That Butler, Silver Scales
by Migoto Nami
Summary: Ciel Phantomhive was just like any other 19-year-old trying to make a living out on the sea. But something has been bothering him lately. There's something in the water, and it keeps plaguing him. Just what is this sea creature? And what does it want? SebastianxCiel/AU Story/Rated M
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Black Butler belongs to Yana Toboso. If I owned Sebastian...let's just say he would never leave my bedroom. Ever. He'd be my little sex slave...ahem...yea. Also, the image is not mine. And do you guys know how hard it is to find a pic of Bassy as a mermaid? It is neigh impossible, I tell you! **

**Songs Listened To When Writing: The Steamboat Willie Medley, *Foxhunter by Celtic Woman(Ciel's song)***

**P.S. This ENTIRE fic was inspired by the song 'Virginia Company' from the movie, Pocahontas. Can you believe that? I sure have an imagination, lol  
**

* * *

The wind was crisp and cool as it hit the teenager's face, whipping his slate grey hair around his head and causing the ends to tickle his face and ears. Ciel placed his foot up onto the deck's side, resting his arm on his raised knee and staring down at the dark blue waters below. He could hear Finny singing a happy tune as he swabbed the floor and the clamor from the eating hall down below.

The 19-year-old had already eaten and had made his way up here, choosing not to be a part of the drunken mess downstairs. Ciel sighed and looked off into the distance, seeing nothing but clear waters all around. He vaguely wondered how his mother and father were doing without him. He had been on the sea for about two years now, and he always contacted them with letters when the ship went into port. Their responses weren't anything to be worried about; they were proud of him, and glad that he had left the nest to do his own thing. But still, he missed them terribly.

Ciel had been born into the middle class. He and his family led modest lives and Ciel never once thought it was boring, or that he deserved better. But he always wanted, for as long as he could remember, to get out on his own and explore all this world had to offer. So when the opportunity to get out on the sea came along one day, he immediately took it, even though it meant being just a deck-hand; or as the crew liked to call it, a 'swabby'. But that didn't matter much to him though, because Ciel could get off at any dock he wanted and make a life for himself wherever he wanted, giving the teen the kind of freedom that he always yearned for. It was great.

The ship that he was aboard was called the BiàntàiHǎidào, one of the best whaling ships at the time. The ship was medium-sized, allowing for good speed and versatility, and it had a specific crew to handle every aspect of the whaling process. First of all, there was the navigator, Claude. He steered the ship and could spot a whale from remarkable distances that no one else could see. Next, there were the people who went out onto the water and harpooned the whales: Mey-Rin, Agni, Ash, Undertaker and Grell. Usually on whaling ships there was a bigger crew to harpoon the whales, seeing as it could get dangerous, but these five always got the job done without getting hurt. They were that skilled.

Then, there were the people who cooked the everyone's meals and also processed, stored and preserved the whale: Bard, Hannah and Tanaka. Their job was messy and Ciel didn't envy them, although he did wonder why Tanaka barely helped out and just sipped his tea most of the time. Next, there was William. He sold the whale parts at the port and he was damn good at making money. He had this way of talking to people that was strictly professional and polite, all the while managing to trick you into foolish deals.

Lastly, there were those who cleaned up the messes around the ship: Ciel and Finny. The ship wasn't too big to require two people to swab it all the time, so he and Finny traded off. Finny, since he always liked to be out in the sunshine, cleaned up during the day, and Ciel, since he wasn't exactly that much of a social butterfly, cleaned up at night when everyone was asleep. It was a simple system, but it worked out perfectly for the both of them.

The captain was a person that Ciel really didn't care for at all. Captain ******* was nice enough, but was certainly one weird individual. The captain popped in on the crew at random times to check up on them and steered the ship occasionally but never spent too long outside, though, and usually just talked with William and the firstmate in the captain's quarters about what to do next.

Right now, they were sailing out to sea again after having just sold a catch. Ciel could feel the money in his pocket against his leg and reminded himself, once again, that he had to stash that away soon, lest he forget about it. Ciel inhaled slowly and sighed, glad that that horrid smelling carcass was off the ship so that he could breathe again. God, did those things smell after a while...

All of a sudden Ciel was ripped from his thoughts when he heard something hit the water. Now, normally this wouldn't be anything special, but that splash had sounded way too big and also very familiar as well. The teen blinked and looked over the edge, catching a glimpse of a silver shimmering tail disappearing below the water. '_There you are again._' He thought to himself, watching the creature vanish beneath the waves. He had heard that same splash for nearly a month now and he would always just see the brief glance of that tail whenever he tried to investigate. After all this time, he still couldn't figure out what that was, and it bothered him endlessly.

When he couldn't find anything else, the teen frowned and took off his eye-patch, using both of his cerulean eyes to scan the water's surface. The patch had been a gift from his father when he was young and they used to play games together, like 'Cops and Robbers' or Ciel's favorite: 'Pirates'. Vincent had bought the patch for Ciel to play with when he was young, and it just stuck with him all his life.

''...What are you? A dolphin?'' The teen asked out loud, looking down at the water.

''Dolphin?'' Ciel blinked as Finny came to stand next to him and stare down at the water too. ''Was that what that splash was?''

''I don't know, I couldn't see.'' Ciel frowned and the two of them searched the water's surface for a few moments before someone shouted at them.

''Hey, you two! Stop leanin' over the railin' like that. You're gonna go overboard and I'm not goin' in after ya.'' Bard scolded as he made walked up the steps from the dining hall below deck.

''Oh, oops! Sorry, Bard!'' Finny said and stepped back to get to work again. Ciel moved back as well after stealing a final glance at the water. The blue-eyed boy silently tied his eye-patch back on while tuning out Bard's scolding. Honestly, Bard was good guy and all, but his constant brotherly over-protectiveness just irritated the teen sometimes. Ciel didn't even listen to the whole lecture before he just waved the cook off and walked away.

By now, people were starting to come back up from the dining hall and Ciel sighed as he heard Grell's flirtatious comments toward William. He skirted past the doorway to the eating hall before the two of them walked on deck, not wanting to see the red-haired male try to make out with Will. Ciel nearly shuddered at the thought.

''Hey, where are you going so fast, little boy?'' Ciel frowned as Undertaker stood in his path suddenly.

''Do you honestly have to ask?'' Ciel questioned, sighing and bringing a hand to his head as he heard a smooching sound and then the loud smack of Grell getting punched in the face.

''Hee hee hee I suppose not.'' The Undertaker cackled and peeked around the corner to watch the quarreling couple, giggling all the while. Ciel looked at him silently. He could never figure the old man out. All he seemed to want to do was just laugh all the time. Besides that, no one knew a thing about him, not even his real name, only his nickname. But the white-haired male was harmless, so no one questioned his odd quirks.

While the Undertaker was distracted, Ciel turned around and headed to the back of the ship, nodding to Claude and Ash as they walked past him. The pair barely acknowledged him, too caught up in their conversation about which part of the sea they should go next.

At the back of the ship, Ciel wasn't surprised when he found Hannah, Meyrin and Tanaka all sitting together. The girls usually stayed to the back of the ship, preferring the slight privacy it offered. The other crew members rarely came to the stern because there was nothing really to do. There were only barrels of cargo and other things back here including a large fish tank. Tanaka usually could be found on different parts of the ship, so he came back here occasionally. Though oddly enough, nobody ever saw him get up and switch spots.

''Oh, Ciel!'' Meyrin greeted and waved him over as soon as she saw him. Hannah silently turned around and stared at him, causing Ciel to get slight goosebumps on his flesh as he came to sit down with them. Hannah rarely ever spoke to him, just stared, and it always freaked him out.

''You barely touched your food at dinner.'' Meyrin said, frowning as Ciel sat down on one of the high barrels next to her.. ''Is everything alright? You've been acting weird lately, yes you have.'' She asked, concerned, as Tanaka concurred with his usual santa impression.

''Yes. I just wasn't hungry, that's all.'' Ciel said and leaned back against the barrel behind him, looking out over the railing to see the waves behind them. Meyrin silently decided to let the topic go for now and the girls picked up their conversation again as the teen drifted off, thinking about that mysterious silver colored tail he kept seeing.

* * *

Eventually, Ciel retired for the rest of the day and woke up when it was around ten o'clock at night. The blue-eyed teen stretched his arms above his head as he made his way on deck to do his job. When he got to the top he actually had to take off his coat because the air was so warm out here. Claude must have decided to steer them towards the tropical oceans in search of sperm whales this time.

Speaking of Claude, he, William and Ash were all sitting at a table near the right side of the bow, playing cards and smoking. Well, Ash and Claude were smoking. William was apparently too fancy for such things.

The teen silently walked past them to reach his work tools but stopped when he heard William call out to him, ''Phantomhive. Come here a moment.''

Ciel sighed and turned around. He didn't really want to deal with those three. He didn't like talking to them, mostly because they just gave off a bad vibe for some reason, like they would stab you in the back if you weren't looking. Ciel couldn't explain it.

''Yes?'' He asked, coming to stand in front of the table the three were seated at.

''It has come to my attention that you did not do a thorough job last night with the deck and that Finnian actually had to pick up your slack.'' William got straight to the point, putting down cards simultaneously with Claude and Ash on middle of the table and not even looking at the deck-hand.

''Oh?'' Ciel asked, lifting an eyebrow. He honestly didn't remember forgetting to swab anywhere...but then again, he did hear that splash again last night and had spent most of his time searching the water with binoculars. He inwardly grimaced at the thought. When had he become so obsessed over a mere sea creature?

''Yes, and if it happens again, I will dock your pay.''

''See now, you don't have to be so cruel.'' Ash said as he gathered the cards on the table into his deck. ''He's just a boy and people make mistakes.'' Ciel frowned at the insult to his pride when being called 'just a boy' but otherwise was surprised that Ash was defending his side of the story.

''Mistakes must be reprimanded.'' William countered, flipping a card again. ''You know this very well, Ash.''

''You just won't let that go will you?'' Ash chuckled and shrugged. ''You let one whale go by accident and you're branded for life.''

''Yes. That whale cost us a fortune.'' William pushed up his glasses and glared at the white-haired male.

''War.'' Claude said suddenly as the same number card appeared on the table and everyone started laying down three cards to duel.

''Anyways Phantomhive.'' William said as Claude won the duel, getting everyone's cards. ''I expect you to do your job tonight, _thoroughly_.''

''Of course.'' Ciel said and returned to what he was doing before being called over, feeling ashamed that he had let his mind slip so much last night by accident. Even more so about the fact that he didn't even realize it until just now. It was all that stupid sea creature's fault. If it would just come up out of the water and show itself, then Ciel wouldn't be so obsessed with figuring out what it was.

Ciel closed the door to the broom closet with a little bit more force than necessary and decided to start with the back of the ship. He didn't want to be near those three right now, not after that embarrassing lecture.

''Ciel!'' The teenager frowned and stopped when he heard a door close and footsteps approach him from behind. ''There you are. I have been meaning to speak with you.''

The blue-eyed boy turned around when he realized that it was only Agni. He had expected it to be William coming to scold him again or something. ''Speak with me?''

The teenager set down his bucket, deciding to start swabbing here so that he could still talk to Agni and also get his work done. ''Yes.'' The Indian nodded. ''Meyrin told me that you didn't eat dinner.''

''Now that is an exaggeration.'' Ciel said, swabbing the area with practiced ease. ''I did eat, just not very much.''

''Precisely.'' Agni implored, standing in front of Ciel's mop, causing the boy to frown. ''You were distracted by something today, just like all the other days for a long while now.''

''So?''

''_So_ I want to know what it is and so does everyone else. It is not like you to be so distracted.'' Ciel could see that Agni was only concerned and wanted to help, but Ciel didn't need his help, nor anyone elses for that matter. He was perfectly fine.

''It is nothing, Agni.'' Ciel said and walked off to go get his work done. Agni frowned and watched his friend shut himself up in his own little world, just like all the other times when anyone tried to get close to him. The Indian frowned and sighed before heading back to the bunks to go and get some sleep. He knew that Ciel would refuse to talk to him about his troubles tonight and could only hope that he would open up eventually about what was troubling him so much.

* * *

It was around eleven when Ciel was finally left alone and everyone was sleeping below deck. But it unfortunately took another hour of his alone time for him to actually finish his job. Now, with nothing to do, the teen went to the back of the ship and got a case before bringing it back to the bow. One would think that since Ciel was done mopping that he would go back to bed, but no. His other duty was to stay up til at least three a.m. and then wake up a crew member so that someone was watching over and steering the ship at all times. Ciel himself could steer the ship in case of an emergency, like if they were going to hit a rock or something, but that usually never happened. Claude, for the most part, kept the ship in a path that was void of any danger.

The blue-eyed boy set the case on the table and opened it, revealing the violin within. He usually didn't play his instrument on the deck at night, because he might wake someone up, but he did play it now and again when he felt that he might fall asleep if he didn't do _something, _like tonight.

Ciel placed the instrument at his neck, sighing at the familiar weight on his shoulder. He strung his bow across the strings, playing a tune from memory. He decided to play a song that his mother taught him. It started out slow, but progressively got much harder to play and faster as well. As he played, Ciel could faintly hear splashing from the water, but he ignored it, focusing on his song.

The teen frowned when he hit a wrong note by accident and took his bow away, looking at the strings to try and remember how a certain part went. Everything was quiet as he thought, the splashing having stopped. A few moments later he picked it up again and so did the splashing. Ciel raised an eyebrow at this and experimentally stopped playing. In response the noise stopped. Now Ciel was really intrigued.

He tried one more time and the same response was found. Ciel smirked at this, an idea forming in his mind. As quietly as possible, he went over to the side of the ship where he heard the noise and looked down. The water moved in a strange way before settling, signaling that whatever was there retreated down below. The teenager creeped back to the stairs that led to the steering wheel of the ship, carrying his violin with him. There was a crank up there that controlled the large net that was used to catch fish in the meantime when the ship was looking for whales.

Ciel grunted quietly as he turned the crank to position the net where he wanted quietly. When that was done, he took up his violin from the ground and placed it on his shoulder again, starting to play. He took his foot and lightly put it on the latch that dropped the net, keeping his eyes on that one spot where the rustling water had been.

Normally this net was used to just drop in the water and open like a butterfly net to catch stray fish as they sailed, but Ciel figured that it might work in this situation and perhaps the sea creature would get tangled up in the net somehow. He severely hoped that it would. He had tried countless times to catch this thing at night, but it always went away before he could try. Perhaps now, with his violin, he could get it to stay in one spot long enough to catch it.

As he expected, he saw the water rustle in that same spot, but he waited just a little bit longer, until he saw that silver tail. The moment Ciel saw it come up to slap at the water, he hit the latch with his foot, releasing the net on the water below.

Once Ciel saw the net wiggle, the teen wasted no time in putting his violin down and cranking the net back up again. He didn't look to see if he had actually caught anything yet and focused on moving the net onto the deck so that if he really did catch something, than it would just fall onto the deck if it managed to break free.

All the while, his mind was racing as the moved the net. '_I bet it's just a dumb dolphin._' Ciel thought as he slowly stopped the crank. '_Or it could be a shark, for that matter._' Well, whatever he was expecting to find, Ciel sure wasn't anticipating to encounter widened wine-red eyes staring back at him in shock.

Ciel couldn't believe what he was seeing. His jaw dropped in shock before he could stop it as he stared at the creature before him. It had the upper body of a male human and the shimmering silver tail of a fish.

He'd heard stories of such creatures from the drunken sailors that returned from god awful long journeys from the sea. But of course no one ever believed them: It was just a silly tale. But now, here he was, staring one straight in the face. A real…life…"Merman…" The word left his lips in an amazed whisper.

* * *

**Okay, I know what you all are thinking: How in the WORLD can Ciel and Bassy get it on if Bassy is a fish? Well, it is possible, as you will find out later. XD Anyways, sorry for the short chapter, but I wanted to see if anyone was interested in this. My editor/bff actually laughed at me when I said that Bassy is gonna be a mermaid in this and it made me feel bad :[ Mermaids are awesome, leave me alone D:**

*****I have a contest about the captain if anyone is interested. The first person to leave a review or send me a message with the correct identity of the captain will get a say on who is the seme in this fic, cuz I haven't really decided yet if Sebby or Ciel should be on top. Also, they can help me come up with some side pairings if they want too. So use your brains and tell me who the captain is! :] You only get one guess, so if you send me a response with a whole bunch of different people, I'm only gonna count the first person you said, so yea, think carefully :3*****

**Welp please review and let me know if you want more okay. There will be smex later on and also a lot of drama because of it and stuffs yep yep! Also, the captain will be revealed next chap, which I hope to have up sometime next week, so yea Review! And have a good day! :D See cha :DDD Thanks for reading!  
**

**P.S. I do not support whaling, just so you know :'[  
**

**~Migoto Nami**

**Now here's a bit of randomness, just for you!**

* * *

~Random Short~

Sebastian kicked the door to his home in the demon world closed as he whistled a happy tune, carrying a bag of groceries with him that consisted of Ciel's soul, a few potato skins, a cat key chain and strangely enough a fake mustache.

He could hear the television in the other room and put his bag down in the hall, prancing over to the living room and jumping on his lover, who was sitting down. ''Hi Skully!'' The demon cooed and cuddled against his love, who threw an arm over him as he flicked through the channels.

''Hi hunny.'' The red human skeleton monster said monotonously in his very deep and smexy voice. ''Did you get the milk?''

Sebastian's eyes widened and he froze before cuddling up to his skully. ''Uh...no.''

In an instant Skully turned his head around without moving it's body and glared at Sebastian with fire in it's hollow eye sockets. Sebastian scooted backwards in slight fear as the skeleton leaned over him.

Everything was silent for a moment before Skully cried and got up from the couch. ''How dare you! MY MOTHER WAS RIGHT ABOUT YOU! GET OUT OF HERE!''

''But this is MY house!''

''Then fine, I'm leaving, and I'm taking Alphonso with me!''

Sebastian felt tears come to his eyes as he saw his love pack up and leave, taking the giant jellyfish, Alphonso with him. ''Well...well fine! Who needs ya!''

''Whatever fatass! Go on a diet! All you ever think about is your own damn food!''

Sebastian collapsed on the couch and cried, knowing that it was true: All he ever did think about was food...


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Black Butler belongs to Yana Toboso. If I owned Sebastian...let's just say he would never leave my bedroom. Ever. He'd be my little sex slave...ahem...yea. Also, the image is not mine. And do you guys know how hard it is to find a pic of Bassy as a mermaid? It is quite hard, I tell you! **

**Songs Listened To When Writing: Lights by Ellie Goulding, Omen III by Magic Affair**

**P.S. This ENTIRE fic was inspired by the song 'Virginia Company' from the movie, Pocahontas. Can you believe that? I sure have an imagination, lol**

* * *

Ciel could only stare in silence, mouth going dry and hands slightly shaking as the merman just continued to stare at him with an unreadable expression on his face. For some odd reason, Ciel felt his legs move himself down the stairs and onto the deck, bringing him ever closer to the mystical being in the net. It was like there was some unknown force drawing him forward.

Ciel managed to get only a few feet from the net where the merman lay captured before the spell was broken by the sound of heavy footsteps making their way upstairs. ''Ciel? Why are you making so much noise, bud?'' Bard asked as he came up on deck, rubbing his eye irritably.

The chef was shocked into silence when he laid his gaze upon the merman. The group was enveloped in an awkward silence, Ciel not knowing exactly how to explain what happened. All of a sudden, the merman gave Bard a sideways glance with his red eyes. In response, the blonde let out a high-pitched girly squeal and scampered over to Ciel before the teenager could blink.

Ciel wheezed when Bard forced all the air out of his lungs as the chef enveloped him in a bone crushing, overprotective hug. ''Bard, let go!'' He glared at the man and wrapped his hands around Bard's forearms, trying to break free.

''Wh...What is that thing? When did it get here! Don't ya' know the stories? It'll cast a spell on us and kill us all!'' Bard said hastily, moving Ciel forcibly behind him. He had heard the myths and legends about things on the sea. Mermaids/men were a hot topic to talk about among sailors, after all. And though he knew that half the crap was probably made up, he couldn't help believing it anyway because he had always been a very superstitious man...and a gullible one too. ''It'll lure our ship inta' the rocks and then feast on our innards!'' Bard cried, shaking and sobbing as he held Ciel, the latter having a bored look on his face.

''He has a gender.'' Ciel said in a monotone voice.

''You don't know that!'' The chef answered then started sputtering and took a step back with Ciel as the merman twisted, grabbed onto the ropes with his hands and gently lowered himself onto the deck. The creature in question had his eyes still fixated on Ciel and he had an amused smirk on his face, making the teenager shiver slightly.

''What what WHAT is going on up here?'' Another voice yelled from the entrance to the deck as Grell stormed his way upstairs, wearing a sexy red silk nightgown with matching slippers and having his red hair up in curlers. ''Oh!'' The whaler threw his hands together and swooned when he saw what lay on the deck. ''Who is this unexpected beefcake?''

Both Bard and Ciel had matching looks of disgust on their faces as they watched Grell let down his now curly hair and practically run at the merman to glomp him. ''Ooo! Hold me, my scrumptious man-candy!~'' The red head didn't even get close to the sea creature before he was smacked in the face with the end of the merman's tail, but surprisingly enough Grell seemed to like it.

''Oooh yes! Hit me again, baby! You know I like it rough!'' The redhead held out his arms invitingly to the fish, who looked very unamused by Grell's antics. It was then that William decided to show his face, coming up onto the deck in his blue and white striped pajamas and angrily pushing his glasses up higher onto his nose.

''What in the blazes is going on up-?'' The brunette stopped mid-sentence at the scene before him. Bard was hugging Ciel to him and sobbing uncontrollably, shouting out lines like, '_He's making it mad! It's gonna kill us now!_' as the teenager in his arms remained expressionless. Meanwhile, Grell was trying to glomp some fish-man and kept getting smacked in the face with its silver tail. This was...not what William expected to find when he came up here.

The business man's eyes met with the merman for a moment and William felt himself begin to shake. His eyes widened as he stared, just thinking about...all the money he could make off of this creature. At that moment, William didn't care why or how he got on deck, just that this merman was going to make everybody on deck stinking rich! He could just see the possibilities now. William's hand shook as he held onto the side of his glasses, causing them to shake as well as dollar bills flashed in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Ciel was growing increasingly embarrassed by the fact that he knew these people and sighed as he patted Bard's arm, wanting desperately to be let go right about now...

* * *

After William came on board, everything happened so fast. Eventually the entire crew was on deck, making a circle around the mer-creature. Grell had been knocked out by too many hits to the face and now Hannah and Meyrin were holding the merman's arms down. Agni was holding the base of the its' tail in his strong arms and together they completely immobilized the merman. Throughout all this, the sea creature said nothing, only giving a hooded glare to the people holding him down and thrashing occasionally.

Once the merman was restrained, William had gone up to the captain's quarters and was now knocking on the door. Ciel was still ensnared in Bard's overprotective embrace and Finny had also got snagged into his arms as well. The cook was still sobbing comically and saying over and over again, ''It's alright guys! I'll protect ya!'', even though the danger was handled.

''We are fine.'' Ciel finally said, annoyed. ''He's being held down.''

''Don't you panic Ciel! I said I would protect ya!''

Ciel groaned and rubbed his temples soothingly, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on. Everyone(except for Bard) suddenly became quiet and the teenager looked up at the Captain's door, which William was now politely knocking against.

The sound of shuffling could be heard from inside and William impatiently knocked again. ''Captain! Your presence is required on deck.'' The business man pushed up his glasses and waited patiently as he heard talking coming from the room.

''_The ultimate symbol of misfortune and greed. For anyone trying to capture the mystical creature would surely end up in Davy Jones' locker. But then again, what sailor wouldn't want to pursue such an alluring prize, even knowing all that awaits him is total destruction? Tis truly a devil's game we are playing._''

William was shocked when he heard this and took a step back as the door handle turned, signaling that captain was coming out to greet him. ''So you already know what we found?''

''Oh? So you found something have you?'' A chinese man with brown hair and squinting eyes opened the door, a curious look on his face. He placed his right index finger up to his lip in thought as his other hand rested on his bare hip. The only article the man was wearing was a black thong that barely covered his...unmentionables from the outside world. ''Oh my. Well what is it then?''

''Captain Lau!**'' William shouted, half because of the man's indecent dress and half because of him just talking out of his ass again. ''Please put on some clothes at once!''

''But why? I was only reading Ran-Mao the tale of The Little Mermaid.'' The chinese captain held up a copy of said book. ''Isn't that right, Ran-Mao?'' His firstmate walked up behind him and was for some unknown reason wearing Lau's captain's hat and clothes, which sagged down on her petite body.

''Seaweed.''

William sighed and held up his hand, pinching the bridge of his nose to calm down. He was quite curious to figure out exactly what they had been doing, but then again, he didn't want to know. ''Just...put some pants on and come down on deck, if you will.''

''Of course. I'll report on _deck_ in a moment.'' Lau laughed and thrust his hips forward when he said the word 'deck' and William immediately felt that he didn't need to see that...

* * *

It took only a few minutes before Lau and Ran-Mao were both on deck, staring at the merman with puzzled features. Well, Lau looked puzzled, Ran-Mao just remained stoic. ''So...what is it?''

''It's a merman!'' Bard shrieked, squeezing Ciel and Finny to him painfully, still keeping a safe distance from the sea creature. Finny seemed unaffected by the man's strong grip but Ciel felt like there was a ton of bricks on his chest. The eye-patch wearing boy coughed but the chef refused to budge.

''And it's quite squishy too!~'' Undertaker cooed as he poked the sea creature's cheek and then retreated his fingers when it snapped at him.

''And not to mention beautiful! Oh just let me at him!~'' Grell preened from off to the side, where he was held back because of Claude's tight hold on his long red tresses. ''I'd be his little cuddlefish any day!''

''Oh...'' Lau finally piped up, looking over the catch on deck. ''So what do you want me to do about it?''

''Captain Lau.'' A large red vein popped on William's head and he stepped forward towards the captain, getting his attention. ''This...creature could potentially make us more money than any of us has ever seen in our lives. Think about it, no one has ever caught a live mer-creature before.''

''Ah...'' Was all the captain said in response, starting to see why William was in such a fuss about this.

''Yes. Now I suggest we...''

Ciel drowned out the business-talk that William proclaimed to the boss, not caring about the outrageous numbers thrown around and calculations to be made. He looked up at Bard when the cook's arms grew lax, his mouth practically watering over the amount of money that William was describing. The blue-eyed boy removed himself from his grip and looked around the deck at his crew mates.

Undertaker had stopped pestering the merman and was now just standing off in the corner with Tanaka, cackling to himself as the two of them sipped tea. Grell was basically screaming at Claude to let go of his hair while the other male just remained emotionless. Finny kept dozing off in Bards arms as the chef had dollar bill signs in his eyes. Ash had now joined the discussion and both he and William were bombarding the poor captain with numbers and math. And Meyrin was blushing as she coddled the merman's left arm in her grip, blushing like mad. It had probably been her intention to just be close to him rather than hold him down seeing as her grip was extremely lax.

As Ciel saw this he sighed and brought a hand to his head. He never knew that they would be so obsessed with money. But then again, it wasn't all that surprisingly because they all came from middle-class families and were not used to hearing such big amounts of moolah being thrown their way.

The boy felt eyes on him all of a sudden and he looked up, connecting gazes with the merman. Ciel shivered slightly as that red gaze felt like it was staring into his soul. He looked away quickly and coughed, trying to shake off that feeling. He didn't notice that smirk that appeared on the merman's lips at his reaction.

* * *

Eventually it was decided that everything would be handled in the morning. The mer-creature would be placed in the tank on the back end of the ship that was used to house fish that were caught using the ship's nets. The tank was pushed into the center of the back deck so that if the merman tried to jump out, he would just land on deck rather than escaping into the ocean. It took a long while to fill the tank up and the crew had to constantly throw buckets of salt water onto the merman to make sure he didn't dry out.

When everything was ready, Finny had grabbed the merman by the waist and had practically thrown him into the tank. Wire mesh was placed over the top of the tank also, just as a precaution. After that was settled, everyone had decided to go to bed. William and Claude were to stay up together, though, and keep watch over the merman, seeing as it was Claude's turn to watch the ship at night and William had to stay up to calculate some numbers anyway.

''Hey. We're not just going to leave him here like this are we?'' Ciel spoke up, shoving his hands into his pockets boredly when everyone's attention was brought to him.

''What do you mean?'' Ash asked, looking very annoyed by now. He hated staying up when he shouldn't have to.

''Well... aren't you gonna put some fish in there or something?'' Ciel asked, probably being one of the few people on board that actually saw this merman as an autonomous being not just some bag of money.

''Yea, what if he gets hungry?'' Finny piped in, looking upset. He cared about the merman's feelings too apparently.

''Come to think of it, what does he eat anyway?'' Agni pondered out loud.

''Who cares?'' Claude asked no one in particular. For some reason this fish was rubbing him the wrong way, but he couldn't figure out why...

''It appears that _you _should.'' Undertaker cackled, poking Claude's nose with his long finger. ''What if he dies from starvation? Then we'll be out that large sum of money dear William was talking about.''

Lau clapped his hands together, getting everyone's attention. ''You do have a point. I suggest we throw some fish in for him before we head off for a long night's rest. There still should be some live ones in the kitchen from the other day's catch.'' While at sea, sometimes they caught and ate their own fish, to conserve money whenever it was possible.

''But what if he's a vegetarian?'' Finny gasped, holding his hands together and looking from Lau to the merman's tank and back.

''Then some kelp should suffice for now. We have more than enough of that stuck on our nets.'' William offered, pointing to the net from which the merman was caught. There were long strands of kelp streaming off of it. They must have stuck there when the net was dropped into the water.

''Yes. That sounds good enough for now.'' Lau agreed and the items were thrown into the merman's tank before everyone headed off to bed. Ciel was the last to leave the scene and shivered slightly as he could feel those red eyes on him as he walked back to the bunks. He dared one look back and wasn't at all surprised to see the man-fish smirking at him in what the boy could only describe as a mischievous way.

In response, Ciel turned up his chin and walked away. Even though he was initially shocked that what had been plaguing him this whole time was a merman, that didn't mean that Ciel still wasn't angry with the creature for not showing himself sooner. A little hint would have been nice, thank you very much.

The teenager nearly jumped out of his skin when a hand landed on his shoulder unexpectedly as he rounded a corner. Lau only smiled at the boy as Ciel tried to calm his racing heart, having not expected that in the least. ''Ciel. A little birdie told me that you were the one who actually caught the.. the...''

''Merman.'' Ciel anime sweatdropped. Seriously, how on EARTH could Lau not know about this? Had he not heard all the stories? ''And by 'little birdie', do you mean William?''

''Ah, little Phantomhive you never cease to amaze me with that brain of yours.'' Ciel stiffened when the captain threw an arm over his shoulders. He had never been one for physical contact, after all. ''Yes it was William, and he and I would like to thank you wholeheartedly for your excellent fishing skills.''

''Good.'' Ciel twitched when Ran-Mao patted his head like a child, but otherwise let it slide...for now.

''Thank me?''

''Yes. When we bring the fish to port, you will get a significant cut of the money and I'll also promote you when all this is over.''

Ciel's eyes widened at this. That sounded too good to be true, but apparently it wasn't because Lau looked the most serious that Ciel ever saw him. ''That sounds...great, sir. Thank you.''

''No problem.'' Lau laughed and messed up Ciel's hair, causing the teenager to frown. ''You caught the thing after all, ha ha.'' The captain removed his hand and gestured towards the stairway to the bunks. ''Now, you should probably get some rest. You've been up all night.''

Ciel felt kind of insulted to be talked to like he was just a little kid, but he didn't argue. The man was right, it _had_ been an extremely long night for him. His legs felt like led as he dragged himself off to his own bunk, thinking about those mysterious red eyes all the while.

* * *

Up on deck, Lau and Ran-Mao came to stand beside William and Claude. The two were calculating numbers at the table they had moved in front of the merman's tank, constantly writing and then erasing estimates. The merman himself had laid down by the bottom of his prison, watching them, and not at all interested in the fish and kelp that was in his tank.

Lau looked at the man-fish, the expression on his face dark and cunning. ''So...do you think we can get more money if he's alive...or dead?''

The merman's ears perked at this, but he otherwise remained motionless. ''I don't know.'' William said, not looking up. ''I would have to make a few phone calls to be sure. More research could be done on him if he were dead, but still, a live merman is not something that people find everyday.''

''Hm...until later then.''

* * *

The next day, Ciel yawned as he helped Bard, Tanaka and Hannah peel potatoes for lunch, even though Tanaka wasn't really helping. He just sat in the corner, as per usual. The teenager sniffed, his eyes drooping. Ciel hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. He had tossed and turned all night long, but sleep had not taken him for some reason. He blamed that stupid merman, he couldn't get the fish off his mind at all. Even now, he was still plaguing the teen's thoughts.

''Ciel.''

He didn't even know why either. That creature wasn't anything special. It was just half fish. So what?

''CIEL.''

Then again, those red eyes of his did have something mysterious to them. Ciel couldn't even begin to think what they lay hidden about the creature's true thoughts.

''CIEL!''

''Huh?'' Was said teen's intelligent response when Bard threw a potato at him.

''Geez. Would ya' listen? I told ya' three times to go upstairs and get a barrel from the stern. We're out ta potatoes.'' Bard crossed his arms, glaring down at Ciel.

''Oh...'' The blue-eyed boy said and got up from his seat, putting down his half peeled vegetable on the table and turning to leave.

''Are you alright Ciel?'' A hand was placed on the boy's forehead and everyone, except for Hannah, gawked when the real Tanaka was standing there, checking Ciel's temperature. ''You seem pale. Did you get any sleep last night?''

Ciel's initial shock wore off and he gently removed Tanaka's hand from his forehead. ''Yes.'' He said and made his way up onto the deck, ignoring the two concerned looks that were thrown his way.

The afternoon sun blinded Ciel as he ascended out of the ship's stomach. He grumbled and shielded his eye while it adjusted, feet ascending the steps to the cargo area solely from memory. He was determined not to look anywhere near the fish tank. For some inexplicable reason he always felt a chill go up his spine when those bright red eyes connected with his. He kept his gaze fixed to the creaking floor boards as he made his way to the barrels. ''_If I don't look at him, then he can't disturb me, right?''_ He reasoned to himself.

_'Oh, I think you'd be wrong about that.' _A foreign voice resounded within his skull.

Ciel spun around on his heel with a gasp, looking to face the direction he'd heard this internal voice come from. The teenager's single cerulean eye widened and he heard his own breath go still.

The merman had sunk to the bottom of the tank and was leering at Ciel with those piercing red eyes and a bemused smirk. '_We meet again, it would seem.'_

* * *

**Whoo! End chap! Haha, that was fun XD I liked making up everyone's reactions and I hope you enjoyed reading them. I really tried to make everyone true to themselves, so to speak. :] Bassy will converse more with Ciel next chap :]**

****Anyway, the captain is Lau, which means *drumroll* **Demon's Lil Angel** won the captain contest! Congrats :D Yea, I would have contacted you sooner, but I didn't know really how to do that because you're an anonymous reviewer, so yea, you can leave a review with your email or PM me on here and I'll leave my email in my profile if you want to contact me that way and we can discuss together on who should be the seme and you can share with me any side pairings that you may want alright? :] yep yep But if I don't get a response back before my next post, which should be next week, then I'm just gonna do my own thing cuz I wouldn't know how to contact you otherwise D:****

**And also, sorry if the contest was a little confusing. It was my first one and in my attempts to make it not too easy, I guess I made it a bit hard so yea :/ Sorry about that. I'm still learning so don't shoot me DX And lol, just so ya know, the boat's name means, 'Perverted Pirate' in chinese bahaha XDDDD lol**

**Yea, so thanks for reading :D **Demon's Lil Angel, **I will eagerly be awaiting your response so we can get this party started :] Don't forget to leave a review everyone and tell me what you thought and also who you think the seme should be. I would love to hear your thoughts :3 Thanks for all the love and have a good day :DD Luv chus! Beh!**

**~Migoto Nami**

* * *

~Random Short~(written by A Midnight's Dream :] Thank you bestie :3)

"Thank you for your continued patronage, Lord Ciel." The stand tender dipped his head in sincere gratitude while said earl pocketed his wares.

"No need to thank me." The boy said politely. "You're by far the best of your trade. To go anywhere else would be foolish."

The man was about to open his mouth to thank him again when screaming from a few stands over interrupted him.

"Help! Help!" A woman at the fruit stand was pointing to a man who was running away from the stand with a burlap sack thrown over his shoulder. "Thief! Someone stop him!"

Ciel nearly forgot to mutter an excuse me as he started to race after the thief. He reached behind him in his pack until he felt his fingers close around a familiar, spherical object. "I know how to stop him." Ciel brandished a two-toned red and white ball from his pack and pressed a metal button in its center to make it expand in size. "Go, Sebastian! I choose you!"Ciel whipped the ball through the air and with a burst of light the ball opened to release the crude shape of a creature. A small crowd from the bizzar gathered around the spectacle, waiting to see what pocket monster the lad had chosen.

"Meeeeeee_oooooow!" _A Grell wearing a Cheshire Cat cosplay mewed, licking his paw and running it over his ear.

Ciel made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat and returned the pokemon to its pokeball. "Blast it, all these pokeballs look the same." He cursed while brandishing another two toned ball. "Damn it, the thief is getting away." Without hesitation Ciel whipped the second ball through the air. This time when the ball burst open a black suited butler clad with white bunny ears crouched on the ground with a bored expression on its face.

The thief noticed that Ciel wanted to fight, and turned to face the opposing pokemon with a growl. _Good._ Ciel thought. _Now I'll have a chance to catch it._ "Sebastain, use your furry attack now!" Ciel yelled, thrusting his finger threw the air at the thief.

The pokemon only yawned and laid down on its side.

"What? Hello! I'm _talking_ to you!"

A small caption appeared out of the edge of his vision reading: _Trainer __Ciel does not have enough gym badges. Sebastian ignored orders. Sebastian is loafing around._

"What?" Ciel cried in outrage. His pale cheeks tinted a light scarlet when he started to hear spectators from the crowd chuckle at his inexperience. _Damn it all, this was supposed to be my time to shine, not embarrass myself! _"Fine, I don't need you." Ciel growled the last word at his black clad pokemon. "I'll catch this one myself." Reaching into his pack Ciel brandished the most expensive and most powerful pokeball money could buy: an ultraball.

"Go! Ultraball!" He cried and hurled the thing through the air far enough to collide with the thief's chest. The ball opened, and turned the thief's form into a polygon of light before it sucked him inside the ball. The ball fell to the ground and began rocking to and fro as the thief within struggled to get out. Ciel clenched his fist and diligently watched the pokeball. Eventually the ball stopped rocking and made a soft _ping_ noise, signaling the pokemon's capture. Excited cries erupted from the crowd and Ciel let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. A caption appeared at the bottom of the screen, _Booyah__! Wild Thief has been caught!_

"Of course. It was nothing for the head of the Phantomhive family."

_Give a nickname to the captured thief?_

Ciel placed a finger to his lip for a moment in pondering before a wicked grin spread across his face. She would be so mad when she found out but he didn't care.

"Yes…Lizzy." He thought the name perfectly suited the burly, 40-year-old man.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Black Butler belongs to Yana Toboso. If I owned Sebastian...let's just say he would never leave my bedroom. Ever. He'd be my little sex slave...ahem...yea. Also, the image is not mine. And do you guys know how hard it is to find a pic of Bassy as a mermaid? It is neigh impossible, I tell you! Also, some dialogue inspired/taken from the manga.**

**Songs Listened To When Writing: Under The Sea by SEBASTIAN from the Little Mermaid XD**

**P.S. This ENTIRE fic was inspired by the song 'Virginia Company' from the movie, Pocahontas. Can you believe that? I sure have an imagination, lol**

* * *

''You.'' Ciel said, abandoning his task and walking closer to the merman's tank. ''Was that you just now?''

The only response he got was a slight tilt of the head from the sea creature as the being's smirk grew wider. Ciel grit his teeth, feeling irritated. He knew that he heard someone talking to him. ''Do not play dumb with me, creature. Respond!'' The merman remained silent, placing his elbows on the bottom of the tank and resting his chin on top of his laced fingers. He looked away innocently, smirk still in place, when Ciel moved closer so that they were right in front of each other.

One single blue eye glared down at the annoying sea creature. ''I said answer me!'' Ciel slammed his hand against the glass and the merman immediately frowned and locked eyes with him, appearing annoyed by the loud noise. ''I know you can speak. I am not crazy.''

''Are you sure about that, little Phantomhive?'' Said boy didn't even have to turn around to see who was addressing him as he felt a long black fingernail poke at his cheek.

Ciel slapped the Undertaker's hand away from his face and turned around to face him. ''Yes, I am.''

The white haired male cackled and put his hands back down at his sides. ''I wouldn't know about that. Sane people normally don't talk to fishies.''

Ciel deadpanned. ''You're one to talk. You're probably the most insane person out of all of us.''

''Oh I wouldn't say that. I can think of another who is just as crazy as I am'' The Undertaker laughed when a blur of red ran past both of them. Grell pressed up against the tank's glass in a way that he probably thought would be seductive...but it honestly wasn't.

''Sweetheart, did you miss me? I missed you~! I thought I was going to die during those three minutes that we were apart~!'' The man-fish visibly shivered and turned away in response.

Ciel looked away from the scene immediately, not wanting to see Grell fail at flirting with the merman for the twelfth time that day...and it wasn't even noon yet! ''...I see.'' He turned to go, but the Undertaker placed a hand on the teen's shoulder, stopping him.

''Next time you want to annoy the fishy, try something else. Cuz if that glass breaks we're gonna have to put him in a glass cup instead.'' The old man cackled to himself, swaying at the idea. ''On second thought, that would be hilarious. Hee hee continue what you were doin' then.''

''No never mind. I get it.'' Ciel said and went to get the barrel of potatoes that Bard requested. He could feel the merman's eyes staring at him again. He refused to meet the fish's gaze as he made his way back towards the kitchen with the barrel.

He skirted past Meyrin and Agni, who waved hello to him before continuing their walk together, continuing their conversation as they went. When Ciel reached the doorway that led to the kitchen, he placed the barrel down and sighed, letting his poor arms rest for a moment. He could hear laughter come from above him and the teen scowled when Ash's obnoxious laugh reached his ears. He was probably up in the helm talking and joking around with Claude, like usual.

The teen rolled his eyes before getting his cargo and heading downstairs to the kitchen. The aroma of food wafted into his nose upon entering. Ciel growled when he entered the kitchen to find that lunch was already finished and waiting for everyone. ''Hey, I thought you needed these?'' The boy put down the barrel next to the others and glared at Bard as the blonde sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

''Well...I do. But not until later.'' The chef said. ''I figured that I'd ask you to get em' while you're still up cuz there's no way in hell that I'm goin near that man-fish.'' Bard just shivered at the thought. ''Besides, you haven't been outside all day. I thought that maybe you could use some fresh air.''

Ciel sighed and shook his head, not having the strength to really argue with the blonde. ''Whatever...'' he said and went upstairs to head off to his bunk and get some rest for his shift. He usually woke up when everyone else did in the mornings and helped Bard, Hannah and Tanaka in the kitchen until lunch. Then he would eat and then sleep until supper so that he wouldn't be tired while he worked all night.

Today, though, Ciel wasn't that hungry and decided to just go to sleep early. He was also still a bit shaken from that weird voice inside his head. He hadn't imagined it, so it must have been that merman's doing. It had to be.

* * *

Unfortunately for Ciel, his shift came around far too soon for his liking. Also,to top it all off, everyone had decided to go to bed early because they didn't get much sleep last night due to the merman's capture. This left Ciel with much more alone time with the sea creature than he could deal with.

The teen sighed to himself, pondering how things could get any worse, as he felt those wine-red eyes staring at him again. Ciel had saved this part for last and had actually been avoiding coming back here altogether for the better part of an hour because of this particular reason.

Fortunately, Ciel didn't hear that voice inside his head again, which he was extremely thankful for, but the silence was getting to him as he went about his nightly routine. After about a half an hour of silence though, he couldn't take the staring any longer.

''You know, why don't you just take a picture?'' He finally snapped, locking eyes with the man-fish. ''It'll last longer.''

There was a silence as the two of them just stared at each other for a few moments. Ciel scoffed and went to get back to work but froze when he heard a voice, the same one from before, talk to him, ''What's a picture?''

''I knew it was you!'' Ciel shouted, turning around to face the man-fish and pointing an accusing finger at the merman, who cocked his head, that stupid smug smirk in place. ''I knew you could talk.''

''If you already knew that, then why are you acting so surprised?'' The merman's voice was laced with amusement as he watched Ciel get all flustered.

''Shut up! Why didn't you say anything earlier? You made me look like an idiot.''

''Oh, I assure you, you didn't need my help with that at all.'' The sea creature chuckled and Ciel's eyes narrowed angrily.

''Just answer my question.''

''My goodness I never knew humans were so needy.'' The man-fish said and preformed an underwater backflip.

''You are so annoying.'' Ciel grumbled, closing his eyes and massaging his temples with his fingers.

The merman chuckled, floating up near the top of the tank and looking down at the teen. ''To answer your question, not just anyone can hear me speak.'' He said, deciding to ignore Ciel's insult for now.

''...What do you mean by that?'' Ciel crossed his arms, giving the merman a skeptical look.

''I mean precisely what I said. The only people who can hear me are the ones I choose to have listen.''

''And you chose me?'' Ciel frowned, feeling goosebumps appear on his arms as red eyes met his.

''Yes. You are very interesting, and I find you quite entertaining.''

''Is that the reason why you kept plaguing me for the past month?'' Ciel let his arms drop to his sides, genuinely curious to hear the merman's answer.

''Basically.'' The man-fish shrugged and sunk down to the bottom of his prison. ''I do not really have a reason as to why I kept following you... But your reaction to only seeing my tail was definitely a bonus.'' Ciel's face flushed in embarrassment and grit his teeth as the merman stroked his silver tail haughtily.

''Whatever. This conversation is over.'' The blue-eyed teen snapped and grabbed his mop, which had fallen to the ground at some point. ''I have work to do, so just sit there and be quiet like the stupid fish that you are.''

Ciel rolled his eyes as he heard the merman chuckle at him once more. Any other person on this planet probably would have been excited or happy to be conversing with such a mystical being but Ciel just found him to be annoying and cocky. Usually, Ciel wasn't so rude to others, at least not out loud, but the creature's attitude was really starting to get on his nerves.

Thankfully, the merman was silent as Ciel went to work. When finished, the blue-eyed boy put away his cleaning instruments and made his way back to the stern to keep an eye on the man-fish. He looked at the tank to find the sea creature lying down, his back towards Ciel. The teen bit his lip, feeling slightly guilty for being so rude. The poor guy was probably scared. He was a prisoner after all, one that Ciel himself had captured.

That thought made the deckhand cringe. Ciel had never meant for this to happen. He had just wanted to see what had been plaguing him for the past month and had planned to throw it back into the ocean once he figured it out. But last night, everything happened so fast and it wasn't Ciel's place to argue with Lau or William. Especially not over something like this that could potentially make everyone on board rich. The prospect of getting that much money and a promotion, like Lau had said last night, should have made Ciel feel extremely happy, but all he felt was guilt.

He watched the merman for a few moments before sighing and walking over to him. ''So...what's your name?'' The teen asked, crossing his arms and leaning his back against the tank. He was attempting to strike conversation, to try to make the merman's stay here a little less stressful. Ciel figured that this was the least he could do.

''Why do you wish to know?'' Red eyes peered at him as their owner looked over his shoulder. Ciel stared into them for a few moments before looking away.

''I'm just curious.'' The teen shrugged. He wasn't technically lying. Ciel, like anyone else in his position would be, was curious to know a few things about the merman.

''I don't have one.''

Ciel heard shuffling in the tank and turned around to face the man-fish who was now laying on his stomach, facing the boy. ''How can you not have a name?'' Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow. He would think that a name would be something that every being would have, especially ones that could talk.

''I had one once. Though it has been so long since it was used by another sea creature. I can not recall what it was.'' The merman shrugged, tail swaying back and forth slowly in the water as he watched Ciel. The teen seemed to be curious about this, but must have decided to ask about it later because he remained silent. So the man-fish continued, ''If you think about it, a name isn't all that important in the ocean.''

''Well on land it is.'' Ciel said, defending his side. ''It's how we address each other. For example, my name is Ciel. People call me as such when speaking to me.''

''I know. I heard a few people address you with that name.''The merman chuckled and rolled onto his back, closing his ruby colored eyes. ''And if me having no name bothers you so greatly, then why don't you just give me one?''

''I...well...'' Ciel didn't know what to say. The deckhand didn't really want to name the merman, because then it would feel like he was his pet or something.''Are you sure?''

''Are you not able to come up with anything? Odd. I pegged you as being an intelligent human. I suppose I was wrong.'' The sea creature teased, taking great delight in seeing Ciel flush and glare at him. ''I do not care either way, I assure you.''

''Fine then.'' Ciel looked around the stern, trying to find something to inspire a name for the sea creature before he got teased again. His eyes caught a red picture of a particular crustacean on a barrel. The teen smirked and walked over to the barrel, placing his hand atop it and turning to face the merman, who was looking at him curiously. ''Then...Sebastian. From now on, at least to me, your name will be Sebastian.''

The merman was silent for a moment before he smiled at Ciel, causing the boy to blink because he usually just smirked, never smiled. ''Certainly, well then please, call me Sebastian.'' He said, trying out his new name for himself. ''But may I ask why you chose that name?''

''It's the name of a red crab in a story that I know.'' Ciel explained and tapped his index finger on the picture of the crab.

''I see.'' Sebastian said, bringing an hand up to his mouth to hide his laughter. ''How...clever.''

''I didn't hear you coming up with anything.'' Ciel said, an angry vein pulsing on his forehead. ''Anyway, I am going to retire now.'' The teen saw the clock out of the corner of his eye and saw that it was time to wake up Claude. He stretched his hands over his head, lacing his fingers together as he did so. ''So I will see you later.''

''You don't have to, you know.'' Sebastian said suddenly, causing Ciel to stop and stare at him. The merman stared at the teen with a serious expression, causing him to shiver slightly from the intensity of those red eyes upon him. ''I can sense the guilt that you harbor for imprisoning me.'' Ciel flinched and a smirk made it's way onto Sebastian's lips. ''You know you can always release me... and let go of your regret.''

Ciel didn't say anything, staring straight ahead and away from the deceitful sea creature. He looked at Sebastian after a moment and gave a smirk of his own. ''You know... I would, but I don't have the keys.'' He pointed up to the lock attaching the wire mesh to the top of the tank. Sebastian looked up at the lock and frowned angrily at it, silently cursing the metal for keeping him locked up.

''I am sure you could acquire them easily.'' Sebastian tried to reason with Ciel but the teen only frowned and shook his head.

''No. They're in the captain's room, and I would rather not disturb him.'' He still remembered the state of dress the captain was in last night and mentally cringed at the image. ''So, I bid you good night, Sebastian.'' The deckhand said before the sea creature could protest again. Ciel could honestly say that he felt kind of bad for just leaving the merman locked up, but he honestly didn't know what he could do to help besides letting Sebastian go, and that was not an option right now.

Sebastian watched him go, frowning all the while for he could sense that the teen was not going to change his mind. The raven sighed when he was left all alone and laid down in his prison. ''Good night...Ciel.''

* * *

"_In sixteen hundred seven~! We sail the open sea~! For glory, God, and gold AND THE VIRGINIA __COMPANY~!_'' Ciel covered his ears with his hands and glared at Bard as the cook sang that song. The SAME song he always sung every morning. He looked over at Hannah, who was calmly helping to make breakfast and appearing totally unaffected by the loud singing. How the hell was she doing that?

Ciel growled when he felt Bard throw an arm over his shoulders and sway them both together as he continued, ''_Or so we have been told by the VIRGINIA COMPANY~!_''

''Bard! Shut up! You sing that same song EVERY morning!'' Ciel protested loudly but the cook didn't care and just continued with his early morning routine as he cut up some fruit. The deckhand grumbled and pinched the bridge of his nose. ''Ugh. I am going to kill you one of these days.''

''Ciel.'' Hannah said, getting the boy's attention. Which was a miracle in itself because of Bard's obnoxiously loud singing. ''Go tell everyone that breakfast will be ready shortly.''

''Oh thank the Lord.'' Ciel mumbled to himself and headed up on deck, thankful to be away from that mess. It didn't take too long to find most of the crew because more than half of them were still sleeping in their bunks. The only ones left to track down were Agni, Meyrin, William, Claude, Ash and Grell. Claude and Ash were easy enough to find because they were talking in the helm, like always. William was with Lau and Ranmao in the captain's quarters, as expected. That only left Agni, Meyrin, and Grell, and Ciel had a hunch where the redhead might be...

''Oh my scrumptious noodlekins! You're so cute when you look at me that way!~'' Yep. Ciel wasn't at all surprised when he found Grell torturing Sebastian once again. The deckhand chuckled and leant against the side of the ship as he watched Sebastian try to stay as far away from the whaler as possible.

Red eyes glared at him when the merman realized that he was there and Ciel wasn't at all surprised when he heard Sebastian's voice echo in his mind again, '_Please get it away from me. I can't take much more of this._'

Ciel laughed in response and crossed his arms, making himself comfortable against the ship. '_First of all, Grell is not an 'it'. He's a guy._' He thought back.

Ciel couldn't stop the amused smirk that came onto his face when Sebastian looked at him in shock. '_Are you serious?_'

'Y_es. And second of all, why should I make him leave? You look you're having so much fun._'

'_I most certainly am not. Now please, get rid of...him._'

'_Alright alright._' Ciel shook his head and walked over to Grell, getting the red head's attention.''What do you want, brat? Can't you see I am oggling my hunky fish-sicle?''

Ciel raised an eyebrow at the whaler's choice of words but otherwise didn't comment on it. ''Breakfast is ready and also, William's looking for you. I think he's getting jealous that you're spending all your time out here with the merman instead of with him.''

''What?'' Grell exclaimed, taking a hold of Ciel's shoulders and shaking the teen, much to the boy's displeasure and Sebastian's annoyance. ''My poor William! I was just flirting! He has to know that he's the only one for me, right? Oh my dear William, I'm coming~!'' The redhead zoomed past Ciel and off to find his love, leaving the deckhand quite disoriented and dizzy.

''Thank you.'' Sebastian said, getting as close to Ciel as the glass would allow. ''I can not describe in words how...disturbing that person is.''

''Trust me, I know.'' Ciel agreed, dusting off his clothes. ''I've had to put up with him for years.''

''...He has come onto you like this?'' Ciel looked up at Sebastian, gulping when he saw the outraged look in the merman's eyes.

''No, Sebastian...I didn't mean it like that.'' The blue eyed boy put up his hands, trying to keep the peace. ''I meant that I've just had to be around him for a long time, that's all. We both live on the same ship.''

''...I see.'' Sebastian said, looking off to the side quietly. Ciel noticed that he still looked irritated so he decided to change the subject.

''Have you seen a tall guy with white hair and a girl with red hair and glasses recently? I need to tell them that breakfast's ready.''

Sebastian gazed back at Ciel and nodded, gesturing behind the teen to two figures talking over by the very end of the ship. ''They have been over there talking for an awful long time.''

Ciel looked behind him and saw Agni and Meyrin looking awfully close to each other as they talked. The Indian was scratching the back of his head sheepishly as Meyrin laughed at something that he said. ''Oh, I see what's going on here...'' He had thought that the two of them had been spending a lot more time together than usual, and now he knew why.

''...Is she his mate?'' Ciel nearly jumped in surprise when Sebastian bluntly asked his question right next to his ear through the glass.

''I don't know.'' Ciel answered incredulously. ''Don't ask me.''

''To me it appears that she is.'' Sebastian said, lying down. His signature smirk came onto his face as he looked up at the teen curiously. ''Tell me Ciel, do you have a mate?''

''What?'' Ciel asked a little more loudly than was probably necessary. ''No.''

''Oh? Why? Is it because of your disagreeable personality?''

''No!'' Ciel snapped. ''And you are one to talk.''

''Or maybe perhaps it is that your species finds you unattractive?'' Sebastian teased, smiling mischievously when the teen glared angrily at him.

''Would you be quiet?'' Ciel practically yelled, not caring that he was probably heard by have of the whole ship.

''Or could it be that you have no mate because of your-''

''Ugh, just shut up!''

* * *

''So...have you found out anything yet?'' Lau asked, stroking Ran-Mao's back as she sat in his lap. William was currently in front of him. The business man's hair was messed up and he had a pencil shoved behind his ear as he typed away on an old fashioned calculator.

''It appears that either way we will get thousands of dollars no matter where we sell him.'' William said. He had already contacted numerous ports, trying to find someone who would pay the most money for their catch, but none of the numbers were high enough for his liking just yet. ''But it will take me some time to figure out which port we should sell to in order to make the most profit.''

''I see.'' Lau said, smiling. ''Well take as much time as you like. We still have to catch a whale before we go back to land anyway.''

William nodded and went back to his work and Lau sighed. The business man wasn't really much for conversation, was he? The captain's attention switched to his first mate in his lap. ''So it appears that the merman will be staying with us for some time. Isn't that exciting, Ran-Mao?''

''...Seaweed.''

* * *

**Hey guys! :D Hope you enjoyed the chap and just let me say THANK YOU for all the reviews/favs/alerts. You guys are so awesome and I'm glad that you like the story so far :]**

**Just for an update to let you guys know, I did speak with the winner of the captain's contest, Demon's Lil' Angel, and they helped me to decide who is the seme :] You guys of course won't know until later, when the good stuff comes, but I'm just letting you know that I have decided.**

**Also, the side couples have been picked as well. There are three of them and I'm pretty sure you can tell what they are from this chap, although I'm not developing them entirely yet. I want to let them grow and such with the chapters. :] Also, some personal requests were made by Demon's Lil' Angel as well but I decided to hold off on those for this chap and write them at a later date, when the story get's kickin'.**

**The next chap will have a sad Sebby and more CielxBassy fighting I'm sure. Lol, right now they don't seem to like each other very much, mostly Ciel is annoyed with Bassy. But don't worry, it'll get better. :D Welp anyways, I've talked enough so I'll let you guys go. As always, PLEASE REVIEW! It really helps me to get my butt going :] So yea, have a good day guys! Ja~!**

**~Migoto Nami**

* * *

~Random Short~(P.S. Sorry for any mistakes. I gotta type this then get ready for werk real fast :/)

Sebastian politely knocked on his master's door. When he acquired permission to enter the room, he opened the door and pushed the serving cart into his master's office, shutting the door behind him. He placed his master's lunch down in front of him, reciting with much practice what was on the menu for the day.

''Today, young master, we are having roast duck with..'' As Sebastian was talking he noticed his master's widened eyes. Ciel looked at his butler with a serious on his face, slowly reaching for a news paper that was on his desk and rolling it up.

''Is there something the matter, young master?'' The demon finally asked, not liking the look that the boy was giving him.

''Sebastian. Don't move.'' Ciel commanded, getting up from his chair and walking towards his butler. ''There's a spider on your face.''

''What?'' Sebastian raised an eyebrow and looked at his face the best he could and noticed a black and yellow blob on his left cheek.

''_Well howdy doo~_!'' The spider said and tipped his small hat to Sebastian, who remained as stiff as a board for a second, and then...

''!'' Sebastian yelled and and started running around his master's desk, clawing at his face. ''!''

''Well I would if you would just stay still!'' Ciel roared and chased the demon. ''Quit acting like a baby and get over here!''

''NOOO! YOUNG MASTER GET IT OFF!''

''I'm trying!'' The Earl growled and then finally tackled Sebastian to the ground.

''What in the blazes is going on in here?'' Bardroy yelled, barging into the room with the other servants behind him. They had all heard the screaming and had rushed to help, but froze at what they saw...

Only the very top of the young master's head was visible over the desk and Sebastian's feet stuck out from the sides. The butler's feet were moving erratically as Ciel groaned and fought with the demon, irritated that Sebastian was still trying to get away from him and freak out about the stupid spider.

Bard's cigarette dropped to the floor in shock and he covered Finny's eyes as Meryin blushed, a trail of blood flowing from her nose. To them, the scene before them looked very...questionable indeed.

''Young master, just do it already!''

''I'm trying!''

''You're not getting it!''

''That's because you won't stay still! Be still so I can do it right!'' Ciel groaned as he tried to simultaneously hold down Sebastian and whack the spider at the same time. Apparently that groan was mistaken for a moan because Bard covered quickly covered Finny's ears as well. The cook blushed as more noises were heard and tried to usher everyone out of the room, but not before they all heard Sebastian scream,

''Ew! It's all sticky on my face!''

Bard quickly threw everyone out and grabbed onto the door handle,fishing into his pocket and pulling out a few packages from his trousers. ''Stay protected!'' He yelled and threw the condoms into the room before practically running away from the scene.

''You big baby. You didn't need to scream.'' Ciel huffed and got up off his butler, who now had spider guts all over his cheek.

''That was a very traumatizing experience, master.'' Sebastian sniffled and got up from the floor, wiping at his face with a stray napkin.

''Whatever...Sebastian what are those?'' The Earl asked when he finally noticed the condoms on the floor.

''Oh my!'' The demon chuckled when he too noticed the small packages. ''It appears that someone has left us an invitation. Should we indulge in their wishes?''

''Whatever it is, no. Bring me my tea.''

''But master~''

''No.''

''Aw...''


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Black Butler belongs to Yana Toboso. If I owned Sebastian...let's just say he would never leave my bedroom. Ever. He'd be my little sex slave...ahem...yea. Also, the image is not mine. And do you guys know how hard it is to find a pic of Bassy as a mermaid? It is neigh impossible, I tell you! **

**Songs Listened To When Writing: Jellyfish Jam from Spongebob, Sound the Bugle from Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Kingdom Dance from Tangled(((Ciel's Song)))**

**P.S. This ENTIRE fic was inspired by the song 'Virginia Company' from the movie, Pocahontas. Can you believe that? I sure have an imagination, lol**

* * *

''Eat.''

''No thank you.''

''Sebastian, just eat already.''

''I decline.''

Ciel rubbed his temples with two of his fingers irritably as he tried to calm himself down. Before lunch, William had ordered him to give the merman more food because all the other foodstuffs in his tank had been consumed. The deckhand thought that this would be a simple task because Sebastian had already eaten the other fish and kelp in his tank. So he left the merman alone to eat his meal in peace and go have some lunch of his own, but when he returned, Sebastian hadn't eaten anything. Now they were fighting...again. And just when Ciel had been beginning to think that they were starting to tolerate each other a little bit.

''You ate the other fish. This is the same exact thing, just eat it.'' Ciel grumbled, trying to remain calm. He knew that if Sebastian didn't eat then William would have a fit. So he had been trying for the past fifteen minutes to get the man-fish to eat something, but the raven was being so difficult and kept refusing.

''I only consumed that horrible excuse for a meal because I had no other choice at the time.'' Sebastian crossed his arms and glared from his sitting position near the back of his tank, not at all interested in the fish that were swimming around his living space.

''Well you have no other choice now either. So just eat the damn food already.'' Ciel glared right back at the sea creature, not backing down from his request.

''That is not true. Back then, I was unable to speak with you, but currently I can.'' Sebastian let his tail stretch out as he shifted into a more comfortable position, still keeping his arms crossed. ''Now, I have made my request for what I wish to consume. Acquire it for me, and you shall have no further problems with my eating habits.''

Ciel just glared harder at the merman when Sebastian threw him that cheeky close-eyed smile of his. The teen put a hand up to the bridge of his nose and pinched it. ''Sebastian. I am not diving... into the ocean...to find you your stupid tuna.'' He spoke slowly, as if speaking to a child. ''So just eat your fucking snappers and be done with it.''

''No. I refuse to eat these fish any longer.'' Sebastian growled, swatting away a fish that swam too close. ''I desire to eat skipjack tuna, nothing else.''

''Sebastian.'' Ciel glowered. ''I am going to kill you. Just eat!'' The teen slammed his hand on the glass separating them, having had enough of this. Like last time, Sebastian became extremely annoyed by the loud noise.

''No. And do not do that.'' Sebastian was in front of Ciel in an instant, red and blue eyes glaring at one another. ''It hurts my ears.''

''I'll stop when you eat something.'' Ciel hissed and slammed the glass again. He didn't use enough force to harm the glass, only enough to make Sebastian angry.

''I already told you-'' Sebastian was cut off as Ciel slammed the glass again and the merman covered his own ears, glaring death at the teen. ''Stop that.''

''Eat.'' Slam.

''Ciel-''

Another slam. ''No. Eat.''

''No!'' Sebastian growled and flicked his tail upwards forcefully, causing a wave of water to splash out of the tank and crash over Ciel. The deckhand instinctively shielded himself with his arms as he got soaking wet.

Ciel was stunned into silence for a few moments as he shivered and coughed from being soaked to the bone with cold water. He looked up at Sebastian, who scoffed and looked away as he crossed his arms. ''You little wretch!'' Ciel coughed, extremely pissed.

''What ever is going on back here, Phantomhive?'' Someone asked, stopping Ciel from all but climbing into the tank and strangling the merman.

Ciel coughed for a few more moments before addressing the three that had approached him. ''What does it look like?'' He growled, not at all caring that he was being rude.

''Well it _looks _like you got your ass handed to you by a fish.'' Ash brought a hand to his mouth to hide his smirk as Claude frowned at the boy's lack of respect.

William, on the other hand, let the disrespectful tone go for now as he surveyed the scene before turning back to Ciel. ''Phantomhive. Clean this up.'' He adjusted his glasses higher up onto his nose as he walked over to the tank and gestured to Sebastian. ''I have told everyone on board that this creature is property and should be treated as such.''

Ciel bit into his lip and looked away, remaining silent, as Sebastian frowned. Even though he chose not to converse with William, he could still understand what was said, and the words insulted him greatly.

''I can not have you damaging the ship's property, so I will ask you to keep your distance once again.'' William fixed his glasses and looked at Sebastian out of the corner of his eye. ''Honestly, I don't understand why anyone would want to purchase him alive. If you ask me, this creature is better off dead. It would be easier on all of us.'' He mumbled to himself, irritated that the merman was causing so much trouble when he hadn't even been here that long.

In an instant, William ended up soaked from a splash, having suffered the same fate as Ciel just a few moments ago. His glasses slipped off of his nose due to the crash of the water and the business man coughed. ''My glasses!'' He exclaimed when he noticed that they were gone and scrambled to find the missing piece of eye-wear.

Meanwhile, Ash started laughing loudly and Ciel chuckled to himself when William blindly searched for his spectacles on the soaking we floor. Claude on the other hand, remained silent like usual, but he gripped onto the side of his own glasses, silently pitying the poor man in front of him.

''Stop laughing this instant! I will not tolerate such disrespect!'' William hissed and pointed at the laughing duo as his other hand continued to look for his glasses.

This only caused Ash and Ciel's laughter to increase because he pointed in the wrong direction from where they were standing. Eventually, Claude decided to step in and handed William his glasses. The business man gave Sebastian a look that could kill before turning his attention to Ash and Ciel. The former was still laughing as Ciel wisely stopped.

''If you find this to be so funny, Ash, then you can clean up this mess.'' William said and shoved a mop into the white-haired male's chest before angrily stalking off, Claude in tow. Ash seemed to snap out of it after that and ran after the two, complaining that he shouldn't have to do any manual labor.

Ciel let out another chuckle as he watched them go before turning back to Sebastian. His amused expression instantly vanished, however, when he saw the merman huddled up in a corner, arms crossed and turned away from him. The teen bit his lip and moved to talk to him but was stopped at William's shout of, ''Phantomhive! Go dry off this instant! You are tracking water everywhere!''

The teen sighed at this, and gave one final look at Sebastian before leaving to go change.

* * *

A while later, Ciel was all dried off and buried underneath the covers in his very own bunk below deck. He had gotten off easy with cleaning up Sebastian's mess. William had very angrily ordered Ash to clean it up, much to the whaler's dismay. Ciel in the meanwhile, had tried to talk to Sebastian after he had dried off, and when no one was watching, but the merman refused to even look at him.

Ciel sighed to himself as he turned over in his bed and brought the blankets up around himself more comfortably. He closed his eyes and listened to the waves hitting the outside of the ship, the familiar noise lulling him to sleep. The teen had almost slipped into dreamland before he heard two pairs of feet make their way downstairs. He growled and turned over again, pulling the blankets over his head and trying to rule out the noise. Why was anybody even down here anyway? Lunch just ended an hour ago!

''Oh, Ciel's already sleeping.'' The teen could instantly make out the voice of Meyrin.

''Yes, it appears that he is alright then.'' He could make out the voice of Agni next and Ciel furrowed his eyebrows from under the covers, wondering why they would come down here. He listened on, curious.

''His asthma must not have bothered him from that splash.'' Meyrin commented quietly to herself and Ciel heard her sit down on a bunk near his. The must have heard what happened.

''I am glad.'' Agni whispered in the quiet room and Ciel felt his eyes droop slightly when he heard Agni sit down next to her. ''For a while there, I had been concerned about him.''

''I know. When he suddenly stopped eating, I felt so worried about him too, yes I did.'' Meyrin said quietly. ''I'm glad to see he's doing alright, yes I am.'' The room became silent after that for a long while. Ciel closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep, when Agni picked up the conversation again.

''Miss Meyrin...about our conversation yesterday...'' He seemed unsure about how to proceed and Ciel raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn't move.

''I know...I've thought about it, yes I have...'' Meyrin whispered back so quietly that it was a miracle that Ciel even heard her. ''And I think...that we could do that...'' shortly after that Ciel heard the bed next to him creak and Meyrin give a faint surprised gasp. Ciel's breathing evened out as he finally fell asleep, but not before hearing the unmistakable noise of soft, feverent, kisses.

His ears heard the noise, but instead of imagining Agni and Meyrin, his sleep-filled mind conjured up the image of himself and Sebastian kissing instead to go with the sound for some reason. Ciel shifted in his sleep as he felt dream-Sebastian wrap his silver tail around one of his legs as the teen tangled his fingers in the merman's raven colored locks, tongues twisting and searching inside eachother's mouths.

His dream self pulled Sebastian closer as the merman ran his fingers down Ciel's chest, causing the teen to shiver. He could feel Sebastian's smirk through their kiss and Ciel bit down on the raven's bottom lip irritably as he cradled the back of Sebastian's neck in his right hand while his left slid down his bare back slowly. He could feel Sebastian grip his hips, tracing his merman tail up and down the teen's thigh. Ciel's eyes opened at this and red eyes met one blue before the deckhand felt tugging on the back of his head as Sebastian untied his eye-patch and let it drop into the darkness below them. Ciel slowly let his other eye open and he could feel Sebastian smile against his lips when both ocean-colored eyes gazed upon him for the first time. Ciel returned the smile before he could stop himself as he kissed Sebastian again, gazing clearly into those two beautiful wine red-colored eyes.

Had the real Ciel actually been awake, this scene might not have been as inviting, but to his sleep-deprived mind, it was a pleasant image indeed and the teen smiled slightly in his sleep before slipping further into unconsciousness.

* * *

When he awoke a few hours later, Ciel ate dinner and got ready for work, all the while still pondering what had happened before he went to sleep. The fact that he had heard Agni and Meyrin together didn't bother him nearly as much as his dream did. Even now, as he started to work, the image wouldn't leave his mind.

Ciel mopped down the bow of the ship with a little bit more force than necessary as he thought about it. Why was he suddenly having these thoughts about Sebastian now? The merman had doused him with water for goodness sake! Ciel should be mad at him, but no. His stupid mind had to come up with crazy ideas. The teen could find no ill feelings within himself towards Sebastian about what happened. At least not anymore, not after that weird-ass dream.

Once everywhere but the stern had been cleaned, Ciel couldn't stay away any longer. He had to go back to where Sebastian was to complete his job. As he was making his way back there, he thought about his dream again and he closed his eyes, a frown coming onto his face as well as a light blush. Ciel could just imagine the merman's cocky smirk if he ever found out. This made him even more determined to keep it a secret.

As he rounded the corner to the back, Ciel had expected Sebastian to have calmed down from earlier and to be waiting for him with a smug look on his face, but that isn't at all what he found. The raven was lying down on the floor of his tank on his stomach. His arms were folded around his head as he rested his chin on top of his forearms, sad eyes gazing out at the sea. Sebastian's shoulders were shaking slightly and Ciel could have sworn that had the merman been out of water, he would have been crying.

Sebastian didn't seem to notice the stunned deckhand so Ciel quietly walked back around the corner and set his cleaning utensils down, feeling completely horrible. He had known that Sebastian was more than likely scared and confused underneath his cocky demeanor, but the teen hadn't been expecting _that_.

Ciel peeked his head around the corner again and he felt a severe tug at his heartstrings upon seeing Sebastian's misery. He pulled back and rested the back of his head against the wall, looking up at the stars. Now he felt like a complete and utter ass hole for capturing the merman. Sebastian didn't deserve this. Nobody did. Ciel bit his lip, feeling the desperate urge from nowhere to comfort Sebastian. His mind raced to try and find a way to make this situation any better. An idea formed into his head after a few moments and headed back to the bow of the ship.

* * *

Sebastian silently watched a few happy dolphins jumping in and out of the ocean, desperately yearning to be able to do the same. He felt like he had been stuck inside this tank for an eternity rather than only two days. It was horrible. Not to mention that the way that guy wearing glasses had just casually spoken about his death had really bothered him. The raven severely hoped that he wouldn't be put to death by these humans, but if staying in a cage the rest of his life was the other option, then maybe that wouldn't be so bad.

The merman sighed as those thoughts entered his head, knowing full well that depressing himself wasn't going to get him anywhere. Sebastian turned onto his side and closed his eyes, willing the thoughts away as best as he could for now. Wine red colored eyes slowly opened when he heard a wonderful sound reach his ears. He slowly sat up and looked off in the direction of the sound to find Ciel playing an instrument he had never seen before. Sebastian remembered the sound as being similar to the noise that he heard two nights ago, but different, more exciting. He swam closer so that he could hear more clearly.

Their eyes met in that instant as Ciel played, the teen never taking his eyes off of the merman and vice versa. Sebastian slowly sat down as he heard the teen play, feeling a sense of indescribable calm wash over him as he intensely listened. All too soon, though, Ciel lowered his bow, stopping the beautiful sound and breaking Sebastian's daze.

There was silence between them for a moment before Ciel spoke. ''...Hey.'' He said quietly, not knowing what else he could say right now, but just feeling glad that Sebastian seemed to have snapped out of his depressed state.

''...Hello.'' Sebastian said softly and watched as Ciel set down his instrument carefully.

''Sebastian.'' The deckhand sighed. ''I'm sorry about before-''

''No, I am sorry.'' Sebastian said, interrupting Ciel by holding up one of his hands. ''I overreacted. I apologize.''

''No,_ I _overreacted.'' Ciel said hastily, not about to have the merman take the blame for this. Sebastian was the victim here. He was the one being held against his will in a tank. He had every right to be as selfish as he wanted to be.

''No,_ I_ lost my temper.'' Sebastian defended his side calmly. ''I was the one who splashed you.''

''Well I was the one who freaked out over stupid tuna.'' Ciel recalled, already knowing where this conversation was going...

''First of all, tuna is not stupid. It is delicious, and second of all, will you just permit me to apologize?'' The merman asked, frowning.

''No. I started our argument because I wouldn't get you the one thing that you have ever asked of me.''

''Well I finished it. Now allow me to apologize.''

''No I am apologizing. I'm sorry.''

''No, I am sorry.''

A heated glare was passed between them before Sebastian covered his mouth and started to chuckle, causing Ciel to raise an eyebrow in question. ''What's so funny?''

''We can never just agree on anything can we?'' Sebastian asked, failing to hide his amused smirk.

''No.'' Ciel said, starting to chuckle as well as he sat down with his back against the tank. ''I guess we can't.'' A comfortable silence settled over them for a few moments before Sebastian broke it.

''Ciel, I really am sorry for hitting you.''

The deckhand looked over his shoulder to find that Sebastian was sitting similarly to him, only the glass separating them from sitting back to back. ''No, it's alright. I'm just sorry that I made you feel like...'' He thought for a moment on how to phrase his words. ''You couldn't count on the one person you confided in on this entire ship.'' Ciel looked over his shoulder again to find Sebastian staring at him silently.

''I humbly accept your apology, then.'' Sebastian said, closing his eyes and smiling at the deckhand. ''You seem to realize your own mistake anyway that this was entirely your fault.'' Ciel felt a vein throb on the top of his head irritably but decided to let that comment go in order to keep the peace. ''Anyway, Ciel.'' Sebastian lied down on his side, facing the teen. '_He can never just stay still can he?_' The blue-eyed boy thought to himself as the merman made himself comfortable.

''What ever was that instrument that you were playing?''

Ciel looked over to the instrument in question, which was lying peacefully on top of a barrel a few feet away. ''It's called a violin.''

''A violin? I see.'' Sebastian stared at it as well. ''It's music is quite enchanting.'' The sea creature closed his eyes, remembering the sound that he had heard only moments ago.

''Do all mer-creatures enjoy music this much?'' Ciel asked, amused at the other male's antics and genuinely curious how Sebastian could be so obsessed with just hearing a violin.

''I can not say. I have not met many other creatures such as myself.''

Ciel raised an eyebrow and looked at Sebastian, his curiosity piqued. ''What do you mean?''

''I have never met any other mer-creatures besides the ones in my pod.'' Sebastian explained.

''Your pod?''

''Yes.'' The merman placed a finger to his chin, trying to figure out a way to explain. ''I suppose you could say that your 'pod' is your 'family', in human terms.''

''...I see.'' Ciel said, for some reason, the thought of Sebastian having actual family out there never crossed his mind until now. The very idea of them looking for him and missing him made the teen feel even more like a jerk for taking him away.

''Yes. There is only two of us now. Just my great great grandfather and I.'' Sebastian propped his chin up on the palm of his hand and gazed up at the stars.

Ciel was silent for a while, his tongue burning to ask about what had happened to the rest of the merman's family members. He decided against it though, not wanting to bring up any bad memories, so he asked something else. ''Are there any other pods out there?''

''Not that I have encountered.'' Sebastian's brows furrowed as he tried to remember. ''But I believe that there are some, but they are probably only populated by males. In all honesty, I think that mer_maids_ went extinct a long time ago.''

A single blue eye widened at this. So there were no actual mermaids left? Only mermen? But then... ''How do you reproduce?''

''We don't.'' Sebastian locked his eyes with Ciel's and the teen stiffened at the serious look in those red eyes. The merman held the gaze for a moment before looking away. ''We are a dying race.''

Now Ciel was regretting talking about this in the first place as he watched Sebastian retreat into himself. The more he spent talking with the merman, the more he wanted to help him, but that only ended up making himself feel torn between Sebastian and the people he lived with every day. The teen didn't know what to do.

''Ciel.'' Said teen turned to Sebastian when he heard him quietly call out. ''Can you perhaps play me another song? I can not stop thinking about your music.'' The merman said, a smile upon his lips.

''You truly are obsessed.'' Ciel commented lightly, but still got up to retrieve his violin anyway.

''I can not help it. The sound is so enchanting.'' Sebastian commented as he lay down to watch Ciel play.

The blue eyed boy shook his head before starting to play again for the merman, all the while feeling extremely pleased with himself that he could at least give Sebastian this one small joy.

* * *

The next morning, Ciel's fingers had a few callouses from playing all last night and the stern of the ship had been swabbed very swiftly, but it had been done nonetheless. The deckhand rested his chin on top of his fist as he watched Sebastian consume the tuna that Ciel had to fight with Bard tooth and nail for. But the teen didn't really care that much so long as the merman was happy, for some reason.

Ciel didn't even know why he wanted Sebastian to be happy so much. It was probably due to guilt or something along those lines, but either way Ciel found that he didn't mind. It was really weird.

''Hey Ciel, are you okay?'' Said teen blinked when he saw Finny's hand wave in front of his face. He blinked and looked at the smiling blonde. When did he get there?

''Yes, I'm fine.''

''Oh, good. I thought you had flown off to the moon or something.'' Finny laughed. ''You looked so out of it.''

''Yea...'' Ciel mumbled to himself, looking past Finny. The other deckhand raised an eyebrow and followed Ciel's line of sight, laughing when he saw that the blue-eyed boy had been looking at Sebastian this whole time.

''You know Ciel, if you want fish, I'm sure Bard would give you some.'' The blonde said, probably having thought that Ciel had been staring out of jealousy that Sebastian was eating fish and that he wasn't.

Ciel raised an eyebrow at the happy blonde before getting up, deciding to use that excuse rather than admit that he had been creeping on Sebastian just like Grell. ''Uh, yea. I guess I'll go ask.''

''Okay. And Ciel, make sure you get some sleep tonight. The bags under your eyes are huge!'' Ciel twitched at Finny's blunt honesty but otherwise didn't comment as he walked away. He cast one last look at Sebastian to see the merman smiling softly at him and couldn't help giving a small one of his own back.

* * *

''So then I said, THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!'' Bard laughed at his own crude joke as everyone was eating lunch down below deck. Lau laughed with him as everyone else pretty much remained silent. Undertaker, on the other hand, was laughing so hysterically from his spot next to Ciel that the deckhand thought that he was going to pass out from lack of air any second.

''Please refrain from such comments.'' William said, adjusting his glasses. ''I am trying to eat.''

''Oh don't be such a stiff, William.'' Lau said, clapping his hands before opening his mouth to allow Ran-Mao to spoon feed him some of his meal. ''It's all in good fun. Right, Undertaker?'' The captain's only response was loud laughter from the white haired male.

''Anyway.'' William said, ignoring the captain. ''I have some news about our latest catch.''

''You mean my hunky fish-sicle?'' Grell swooned from his spot next to William and Ciel froze, hand holding food halfway towards his mouth. William glared at the red-head, a look of jealousy came onto his face for a brief moment before he nodded.

''Yes. I am able to give you a brief estimate of the amount of money that we are going to be able to acquire.''

''So how much dough are we talking about here?'' Ash piped in, eager to know.

''I do not have an exact number but all of my calculations range somewhere within the two thousands.'' William said, earning a few shocked gasps from around the table.

''That's awesome!'' Bard said, dollar signs practically dancing around in his eyes.

''Oooh! I can buy so many new red dresses!'' Grell said, fantasizing about all the beautiful red accessories he could purchase. Likewise, everyone at the table was thinking similar thoughts, all except one.

Ciel gulped, feeling a lump lodge itself within his throat at everyone's happy expressions about the thought of selling Sebastian.

* * *

**Let me just say this right now, guys. I cried when Bassy cried T-T So sad! My poor Sebby! I feel so bad for being so mean to him! But he must be with Ciel so it had to be done...don't shoot me! Wow, things are really heated up huh? Lol, and it's only just begun I assure you XD**

**Anyways, Demon's Lil' Angel, I hope you enjoyed your requests to have Ciel and William get soaked. In retrospect, that really helped :] It just fit so perfectly with everything I wanted to do, so thanks for that :D Also, I put in some AgnixMeyrin, just for you :3 Hope you liked. That was just a tid bit and there more than likely will be more of them when I need some filler to write about -w- lol**

**So um, yea, I have some questions to answer/responses to give I think 0.0:**

Igloo**: I um...honestly have no idea why Bard had condoms in his pocket. Perhaps cuz he's such a lady's man? Lol XD**

Yana5**: Does Sebastian have magic? Hm...I suppose that he does, since he can talk telepathically with Ciel. So yes, in that sense? But he can't control elements or summon things or anything extraordinary like that. Just a few small things. :]**

Kaname and Zero's Girl**: I don't knnoowww. Lol, sarcasm XD Yes, I guess he would be since this is a SebaCiel fic, XD ha ha**

**Thanks for reviewing you guys and if you have questions, I will answer them by all means :] So yea, thanks again for all the attention you guys are giving this fic. It really warms my heart to see all the nice comments everyone is giving :] Thank you! Anyways, like always, PLEASE REVIEW and tell me what you thought about their fighting, the characters, anything at all! I will be glad to hear and be inspired to write some more :D Ja!~**

**Preview for next time: More bonding time with Sebs and Ciel and Ciel gets all up close and personal with Sebastian *le gasp~!***

**P.S. On an random note, I listened to Disney's Brandy and Mr. Whiskers intro theme song for the arguing scenes with Ciel and Bassy XD Lol, I have no idea why. I guess that my weird mind just made it fit cuz Bassy is a bunny in the Wonderland OVA and Ciel is the Queen's watchDOG lol XDDDDDD Lol, just thought I'd share.**

* * *

~Random Short~(Inspired by Coach Hines from Mad TV)

Ciel placed his pen under his nose and balanced it there by pursing his lips upwards. He had been doing paperwork for hours and was now goofing off because he didn't want to do it anymore. He was also goofing around to see how much he could mess with Sebastian by not doing what he was supposed to do. That was always fun.

The Earl nearly jumped out of his skin when said demon burst open the door to his office, looking extremely P. for some reason. Ciel frowned when his pen fell from his lips. Now he would have to try to beat his own record all over again.

''My lord.'' Sebastian said, walking up towards the boy's desk. He didn't care right now that he was being disrespectful and slammed his hands on the boy's desk. ''I am going to kill Finny and Bard.''

''Sebastian, how long can you balance a pen under your nose?'' Ciel completely ignored the demon's death threat, biting said writing instrument.

''My lord, I am serious this time.''

''So am I. Lizzy once went three days without dropping her pen. Three days, Sebastian!''

''My lord, please. I implore you to let me have my revenge upon them.''

''I mean how did she even eat?''

''Ciel!''

''Tell me how Sebastian! I command you!''

Sebastian was silent for a moment, taking angry breaths, before he swiftly exited the room. He came back in two seconds flat, holding Bard and Finny's ears as he dragged them.

''Ow! God dammit that hurts!'' Bard cursed as Finny basically started crying.

''Get over there.'' Sebastian pushed the two blondes towards Ciel, who was about to lick a blue glue stick for some reason. The demon ignored it and shoved the chef and cook again. ''Get over there and tell the young master, RIGHT NOW, what you did to me this morning!''

''I don't want to!'' Finny exclaimed, wiping his eyes as he started bawling.

''Sebastian, whatever it is, I can assure you that I don't care.'' Ciel said as he rolled up the stick even higher before licking it again. The raven took the stick away and held it where the Earl couldn't reach it, making the boy whine.

''You better care or I'm not making you any more chocolate cakes!''

Ciel gasped comically before backing down and grumbling to himself. ''Fine. What happened?''

''Okay um, this morning we put crazy glue in Mister Sebastian's gloves.'' Finny confessed, still silently crying tears.

''Tell him what you did, after that!'' Sebastian hissed, pulling at Bard's ear.

''After that we called Grell and told him that Sebastian wanted a...few things.'' Bard hissed, his ear hurting like mad.

''That...individual is currently locked in the down stairs bathroom with nothing on but lingerie!'' Sebastian glowered. ''Unbelievable. Now tell him what you did _after that_!''

''After that we shaved his favorite cat that lives outside in the gardens.''

''Yes. Now tell him what you did after- woah wait WHAT?'' Sebastian's eyes widened as he stared at Bard in disbelief. ''You did WHAT?'' In an instant the demon was out of the room and the cook, gardener and Earl could hear his shouts of, '_MY POOR BABY!_' from out in the garden.

''Eep! I'm outta here!'' Bard wailed and wisely fled the scene as Finny did the same, each running in opposite directions to make finding a hiding spot easier.

A few minutes later, Ciel could hear Finny and Bard's cries as Sebastian basically beat the crap out of them, but the Earl didn't care one bit about what was happening with them right now. No, he had other things to think about.

''Ah, alone at last.'' Ciel said as he licked his precious blue glue stick.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Black Butler belongs to Yana Toboso. If I owned Sebastian...let's just say he would never leave my bedroom. Ever. He'd be my little sex slave...ahem...yea. Also, the image is not mine. And do you guys know how hard it is to find a pic of Bassy as a mermaid? It is neigh impossible, I tell you! **

**Songs Listened To When Writing: You Snuck Your Way Right Into My Heart from Phineas and Ferb**

**P.S. This ENTIRE fic was inspired by the song 'Virginia Company' from the movie, Pocahontas. Can you believe that? I sure have an imagination, lol**

* * *

Humans are weird. That is what Sebastian has come to realize after spending a little more than three weeks observing them.

First of all, they are able to spontaneously combust themselves at random. Nearly a week ago, the merman had just been minding his own business, eating some fish, when suddenly a loud crash was heard from below. After that, a man with blonde colored hair dressed in white had run around the deck, screaming like a banshee whilst his clothes burned. A few others were on fire as well and Sebastian might have actually tried to splash them in order to help them had he not been so incredibly confused at that moment...

Next, Sebastian had observed that old humans are in a whole different league of weird when compared to their younger counterparts. The merman had, on more than one occasion, found this old man sitting by some barrels when he could have SWORN that he hadn't been there a second ago. Also, there was this man with long grey colored hair that kept giving him kelp and swishing around whilst saying, ''Fishy Fishy enjoy your dishy!~''. Sebastian wasn't entirely sure that this particular individual was old, though. He could only assume as such because he couldn't entirely see the man's face.

Lastly, and probably most importantly, Sebastian had learned to not trust men in glasses. Woman in glasses were alright. The red-headed girl never bothered him in the slightest, but_ men_ in glasses...No. Just no.

As usual, Sebastian had just been minding his own business when he had been bothered again by that red-headed...male? At first, Sebastian ignored him, like always, but then that other guy in glasses wearing a business suit approached them, looking horribly angry. The merman didn't really pay attention to the two of them because he was more focused on eating his food and hoping for Ciel to show up. So he was quite startled when the brunette forcefully pushed the perverted red-head against the glass of his tank, whispering words like, ''You are mine.'', ''How dare you look at anyone else.'' and such as the other practically screamed, ''Oh Will!''. After that, things got pretty intense between them and if Sebastian could have left, he would have, just to get away from the disgusting display.

So yes. Humans are very weird creatures indeed...

* * *

Ciel yawned as he stretched both hands above his head in an attempt to wake himself up for work. Things had been considerably awkward for him over the past few weeks. The crew kept fantasizing and talking about all the riches that they were going to attain from selling Sebastian. When they brought the subject up, Ciel refused to join in on the conversation. He could understand why they would be so excited, but at the same time, he couldn't comprehend how they could be so heartless to the merman.

Sebastian was just as autonomous as anyone else. He had thoughts, feelings and, as Ciel quickly found out, was easily more intelligent than most of the people on board. After their last big fight, Ciel and Sebastian did not argue once during the past three weeks. The two of them had actually formed a tight bond with each other when they set aside their fighting and actually talked. During these conversations, Ciel had learned that Sebastian was nearly 300 years old, that the merman hadn't seen his great great grandfather in over 50 years, and that he usually never stayed in just one ocean for a long period of time. Likewise, Ciel had also shared information concerning his family, his own age(To which Sebastian had laughed at, saying that he was ''But a guppy.'') and other pointless things like his favorite color, food and various others that Sebastian asked about. The sea creature was actually very curious, and more often then not it was the teen that was sharing things about himself rather than vice versa.

Ciel didn't mind though. He liked having someone he could actually hold a conversation with. He had actually been caught talking with the merman on more than two occasions by various people on the ship. To be honest, he didn't care that he had been caught, and apparently neither did the people that saw him. He wasn't messing with Sebastian at all so there was really no harm in what the teen was doing. Besides, anyone that saw him would agree that Ciel talking to a fish wasn't the weirdest thing that had happened on this ship. No, that honor would forever belong to the time when Undertaker had gotten drunk and started doing the macarena and shamelessly flirted with Finny and Hannah in some lingerie that he stole from Grell...

The teen shivered at the memory before starting to get to work. As usual, Ciel started out swabbing the front of the ship before moving back to the stern, where Sebastian was. Once he got back there, he wasn't surprised to find that Sebastian was sleeping. The merman had recently taken to sleeping while Ciel cleaned up the ship and then waking up to talk with the teen once he was finished cleaning. Ciel liked this arrangement for a couple of reasons. For one, he could actually get his job done without any distractions and for two, Sebastian was actually getting some rest. This was very good considering that during the first week the merman had been here, he had stayed up for long periods of time and refused to sleep. Sebastian had tried to cover up his actions by saying that he didn't want to miss anything interesting, but Ciel was no fool. He knew that the merman refused to sleep because he was scared someone might hurt him.

Now, Sebastian let his guard down and slept only when Ciel was around. No one else. The teen didn't know if this was because Sebastian thought that he could protect him or that the merman was just more comfortable when the teen was present, but Ciel figured that it was probably a mixture of both. Knowing that Sebastian trusted him made Ciel feel both happy and guilty at the same time. No matter how much time passed, the deckhand still hadn't forgotten the fact that he had done this to Sebastian. That little piece of information was always there, in the back of his mind, nagging him whenever they got closer to one another. As if to say, 'You don't deserve to be near him.'

Ciel was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed when he finished his job and had been mopping the same stop for over five minutes. When he finally realized what he was doing, he looked over at Sebastian, who was curled up on his side, still asleep. The corners of his mouth turned upwards slightly at the sight. This was another reason why Ciel liked this arrangement; the merman was simply adorable when sleeping and the teen rather enjoyed watching him. The deckhand quickly shook his head and walked back to the front of the ship when he caught himself thinking such thoughts about Sebastian...again.

Ciel swore it was like his thought pattern had a mind of its own. At random intervals during the day, he found himself thinking about Sebastian for no particular reason and most of the time those thoughts were strangely welcomed. Especially the detailed dreams that he was starting to have about the merman, most of them involving the two of them doing rather...inappropriate things. In which case, Ciel would wake up with a hard on and be forced to relieve himself before anyone noticed, which led to even _more _rather indecent thoughts about the sea creature.

Ciel sighed and walked back to the stern, putting a hand to his forehead and whispering to himself, ''What is wrong with me?''

''Well, there are a certain number of things that I can name.'' Ciel frowned and looked at the now awake Sebastian, who had his trademark smug smirk on his face. ''An example being your taste in clothing.'' The merman chuckled as he teased the deckhand. ''Why ever do you cover your eye if you have perfect vision?''

''Ah.'' Ciel said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and ignoring the question. ''So the sleeping princess is finally awake I see.''

Sebastian frowned at the girly nickname before sitting down and stroking his merman tail, a cocky look forming itself onto his face. ''If you deem me as such, then does that mean that you are my ''knight in shining armor''?'' He asked, making air quotes with his fingers and causing Ciel to look away quickly, face flushed.

''No.'' The teen said incredulously, frowning. What kind of question was that?

''Oh I see. You must be unfit for the job then.'' Sebastian continued to tease the human, running his fingers through his black hair and swishing his tail. It was obvious that the merman was making a show of himself to make Ciel see what he was 'missing out on'. ''Too bad. It seems that I must take my business elsewhere.'' He dramatically brought a hand up to his forehead, like a damsel in distress. ''I sure hope that I can find someone else to rescue me.''

''Sebastian. Stop it.'' Ciel frowned, once again reminded of his guilt. ''That's not funny.''

''Oh but it is.'' Sebastian chuckled before waving his hand, as if to dismiss the previous conversation topic. ''You know I only tease because I get such delightful reactions out of you.''

''Yes. Well, keep pestering me like that and you can clean your own tank.'' Ciel scoffed, sitting down on one of the barrels by Sebastian. The amused look on his face gave him away that he wasn't really angry with the merman, though. The two of them always teased each other like this and Ciel rather much enjoyed their little quips.

''Must you truly take everything I say to heart?'' Sebastian sighed, an amused smile coming onto his face as he watched the teen lean back against the barrels and shut his eyes. There was a silence between them for a moment and the merman bit the inside of his cheek. ''Ciel...''

''Hm?'' Said teen didn't even open his eyes.

''Do you think that you could-''

''I am not getting up to play my violin.'' Ciel cut Sebastian off, guessing that was what the merman wanted. Every night, Sebastian asked him to play, and now the teens fingers were really starting to hurt him whenever he conceded to the raven's wishes.

Sebastian frowned at this before crossing his arms and looking off to the side. ''I was not going to ask that.'' He said quietly.

''I'm not getting you more fish.'' Ciel said, still not opening his eyes. He was far too lazy to get up right now.

''I was not going to ask that either.'' Now Ciel was intrigued. The teen opened his eyes and blinked at Sebastian's hesitant look, finally understanding the gravity of the situation.

''Do you think...'' Sebastian thought for a moment on how to phrase his question. ''You could come into my tank?''

Ciel blinked at this question. ''...Why do you ask?''

''I am aware that you are not going to release me anytime soon.'' Ciel looked down at the merman's answer. ''But I grow weary of being in here all by myself. I yearn for some companionship.''

''You have fish.'' Ciel pointed out, watching two left over tuna swim around in the tank. ''Besides, I talk to you on a regular basis. What more do you want?''

''Let me rephrase myself then.'' Sebastian sighed. ''I desire_ physical contact_ from something that I _do not_ consider prey.'' He slapped a tuna away from himself for emphasis.

Ciel sighed and closed his eyes again. It wasn't like he didn't trust Sebastian enough to get that close. The teenager did trust him. It was just...Ciel's flushed at the thought. ''I don't want to get in the tank with you.''

''You are lying.'' Sebastian was quick to say, causing Ciel to look at him. The merman had a completely serious look upon his face as he stared at the deckhand. ''I can sense it.'' Ciel stared into those gorgeous red eyes and knew that he was hooked, like always. Seriously, why did the teen let Sebastian do this to him? It was like he could never say no.

''...Fine. I'll go up there, but I am not getting in.'' Ciel sighed and lazily took off his shoes and socks as Sebastian closed his eyes and smiled.

''Oh we shall see about that.'' The raven teased as Ciel left the stern to go and get the small step ladder that they kept in a storage area. Sebastian sighed to himself when he was left alone, heart beating extremely fast at the thought of being so close to Ciel. Sebastian had actually planned this a while ago but had been waiting for the right moment to ask. Now that he had, the merman couldn't be happier now that Ciel had accepted his offer. After all, the teen wasn't the only one having weird thoughts. In fact, the raven was actually the first one to have them two months ago. The teen had been looking out at the sea, a bored expression upon his face when Sebastian had first ever seen him, and after that, the merman just couldn't get Ciel out of his head and started following the boy, leading to their current situation.

Sebastian had had multiple dreams since then involving the two of them, but in every single one, Sebastian was a human instead of a merman. The man-fish didn't exactly know what that meant, but he didn't mind the thought. In fact, whenever he was alone, Sebastian thought about what it would be like to be a human and whether or not he would be as weird as everyone else on board. Also, sometimes, the raven's thoughts would stray to whether or not Ciel would find him attractive if he was human and maybe considering perhaps taking Sebastian as his mate. But those were just fantasies...

When the teen finally came back, he didn't have a shirt on anymore and it was then Sebastian's turn to flush slightly and look away. Ciel didn't see it though, and positioned the ladder before climbing up and unlocking the cage on the very top of the tank. Sebastian twitched when the teen tossed the cage open, the metal sound hurting his ears for a brief moment.

Once it was off, though, the merman recovered and poked his head out of the water to smile at Ciel, who looked very hesitant to even touch the liquid. ''So...are you just going to stare all night or are you going to come in here?'' Sebastian teasingly swished the water, chuckling when Ciel backed up because of the small splash that was created.

''I told you that I am not going in.'' Ciel huffed and sat down on the edge of the tank. ''And don't you even DARE think about splashing me.''

''Well I can not help it if you give me ideas.'' Sebastian teased, but stopped anyway. _He_ was the one that wanted Ciel closer, after all. It wouldn't help him any to scare the teen off. ''I promise that I will not splash you. So please, come in here.''

''I said that I am not going to.''

''Ah, but I know that you want to.'' Sebastian chuckled when Ciel frowned. ''You can not lie to me.''

Ciel hesitated before responding, ''Even if I do, which I DON'T,'' Sebastian smirked at this but Ciel ignored him. ''I still wouldn't.''

''Oh, and why not? Does my presence offend you that badly that you refuse to be in close proximity with me?'' Sebastian looked down in sadness, but his amused expression gave him away.

''No.'' To emphasize his point, Ciel stuck his legs into the water.

''Then what is the problem?'' Sebastian asked, teasingly brushing the end of tail against the bottom of Ciel's feet. He laughed when the teen kicked his tail in response. ''You do know how to swim, don't you?'' The question was meant to poke fun, but when Ciel didn't respond and just looked away, the merman blinked in surprise. ''...Don't you?'' He asked gently and the teen looked back at him, fire in his one blue colored eye.

''No. I don't.'' Ciel suddenly spat. There was a silence between the two of them before Sebastian sunk back into the water and brought his index finger up to his mouth to stifle his laughter. When he came back up to the surface, Ciel was waiting with a death glare in his eyes. ''Is there a problem with that?''

''It is just...why are you on the ocean if you can not swim?'' Sebastian asked, letting out one last chuckle before quieting down.

''I am on a ship. I don't need to swim.'' Ciel defended himself, crossing his arms. When Sebastian laughed quietly in response, the teen scoffed and moved to get up. He wasn't going to sit here and be laughed at all night long.

Sebastian immediately saw this and grabbed onto Ciel's hand. Both of them froze at the sudden contact and their eyes locked as Sebastian tugged on the teens arm gently. ''Ciel, I apologize. I did not mean to upset you.'' The teen frowned and looked away in response. Sebastian clutched the other's hand tighter in his grasp. ''If I promise not to laugh any more, will you please come in here?''

Ciel looked at the merman down passed his nose like the rich snob that he thought he was. ''I told you that I can not swim.'' He scoffed.

''Then I will teach you.'' Sebastian offered and Ciel blinked when the merman let go of his hand, already missing the contact. ''I have lived my whole life swimming in water. What better teacher could you possibly have?'' The raven swam around gracefully, trying to prove his argument.

''I suppose you do have a point.'' Ciel brought a finger up to his chin. ''But then again I don't swim the way that you do since I don't have a tail.'' He pondered his options.

''Please Ciel. At least let me try to teach you.'' Sebastian said, lifting himself up out of the water as high as he could to be close to the teenager. ''Please.''

Ciel rolled his eyes and sighed as he dipped his legs back into the cold water, once again giving in to the merman. ''...Fine.'' He relented, half because of Sebastian's request and the other part due to the fact that he too wanted to be close to the other male. He grabbed onto the edge of the tank and started lowering himself down further into the water. ''But you better not laugh or splash at me or you can get your own fish from now on.'' He threatened, shivering as the cold water touched his naked chest.

Sebastian in the meantime, kept his distance as Ciel entered the water, not wanting to freak the teenager out. He had never been this close to a human before, so he was being cautious to not scare Ciel. When the teen was chest-deep in water, he clung to the side of the tank like a life line, which Sebastian found to be extremely amusing. He didn't chuckle though, too afraid that Ciel would leave in a fit of rage.

''So now what?'' Ciel asked with a harsher tone than was probably necessary. He was cold, and it had been well over a decade since he had been in water this deep, the last time being when he was only four. He and his family had gone to his aunt Angelina's house, which was by a lake, for Christmas. Now, being the stupid kid that he was back then, Ciel had fallen off the deck that was over the lake while playing with his cousin, Lizzy. He had learned to swim before then, but the sudden drop into the icy cold water had scared him severely, almost making him drown. Even though his father quickly got him out, it had still been an extremely traumatizing experience for him, and ever since then he hadn't gone swimming once.

Ciel shivered again when Sebastian came closer to him. He was so close that Ciel could smell the other male, and was quite surprised to find that Sebastian didn't smell fishy at all. He couldn't really describe the merman's smell, it being a mixture of sea salt and something that he had never encountered before. But that just made the aroma all the more different and special, because this was _Sebastian's_ smell. Nothing else could compare to it.

''Give me your hands.'' Sebastian said softly and Ciel looked at the merman's hands for a few moments before grabbing onto them. The merman pulled Ciel off of the wall towards him, placing his hands under the teenager's arms. Ciel grabbed onto the raven's upper arms as they went, feeling Sebastian's strong muscles while simultaneously trying to commit everything about this moment to memory.

''Are you alright so far?'' Sebastian asked quietly, stopping them in the middle of the tank. Ciel's skin felt a lot different from his, softer and less smooth. He tightened his grip on the boy slightly.

''I'm fine.'' The teen said, even though he was clinging to the merman for dear life.

''Okay.'' Sebastian smiled, moving Ciel into an appropriate position to start his lesson. ''Then let us begin.''

* * *

It turned out that Ciel actually remembered a whole more about swimming than he originally thought that he knew. Much like when learning how to ride a bicycle, his mind never forgot how to swim. In fact, after a good couple hours swimming with Sebastian, the teen didn't need the merman's help...except when going under water. Ciel nose always got filled with the liquid and he would have resurface quickly and start coughing. But other than that, Sebastian gave his blessings as long as the teen kept his head above water. If Ciel wanted to learn how to swim underneath the water, than Sebastian would gladly teach him at a later date. They were pressed for time right now because it was almost that hour when the teen headed downstairs to get some rest.

''Excellent Ciel.'' Sebastian clapped his hands once and smiled at the teen. ''You are a natural.'' He was almost sad that the deckhand wouldn't be clinging to him for support anymore...

''That wasn't what you said three hours ago.'' Ciel huffed, pushing his wet bangs out of his face. He grimaced when he felt his soaked eye patch. Now he would have to let it dry in the sun all day tomorrow.

Sebastian saw the black piece of fabric show itself from behind the boy's bangs and swam over to Ciel, a sudden urge overcoming him. The deckhand raised an eyebrow at the merman's approach but otherwise didn't protest when Sebastian got close. ''What is it?'' Ciel asked, blinking when Sebastian hesitantly reached out toward him.

Ciel twitched when he felt Sebastian reach behind him and pull at the string to his eye patch, remembering how the raven had done the exact same thing during the first dream he had of them together. He let Sebastian pull the eye patch off, and slowly opened his right eye to look at the merman fully. He could feel the patch run down his leg as it sunk to the bottom, but Ciel couldn't care less right now about the piece of fabric.

Silence fell upon them as Sebastian traced a finger slowly under Ciel's newly exposed eye, causing a shiver to travel up the human's spine. Ciel grabbed the raven's wrist in his hand suddenly, making him stop. Sebastian opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out to explain his actions. The raven didn't even know himself why he was acting this way.

Ciel could feel Sebastian's erratic heart beat from the pulse on the merman's wrist and the teen swallowed when he realized that his heart was going just as crazy. ''...I apologize.'' Sebastian finally said, reluctantly tugging on his wrist and moving to leave the teen's personal space.

Ciel held tight onto Sebastian's wrist though and pulled the merman against his chest. No, Sebastian wasn't going anywhere. Not when Ciel finally had him right where he wanted him. Before the merman could protest, the human wrapped an arm around Sebastian's waist and grabbed the back of his head, forcing their lips to come together in a tender kiss.

Sebastian's wine-red colored eyes widened as he felt Ciel move his lips against his, gently trying to coax the raven to do the same. The merman hesitantly slipped an arm around the teen's chest and tangled his other hand in Ciel's wet hair. He moved his lips slowly against Ciel's, mimicking the teens movements as best he could. He felt the arm around his waist tighten and Sebastian groaned at the feeling.

Ciel rubbed his thumb over Sebastian's hip in slow circles, not caring at all that his finger was brushing up against the merman's silver scales. He felt like he was in heaven at this moment. He had been dreaming about this almost ever since he had met Sebastian, and now it was finally happening. The teen cupped the side of the raven's face with his other hand as he ran his tongue over the merman's bottom lip, silently asking for permission to enter.

Sebastian slowly allowed himself to be coaxed into opening his mouth, this whole ordeal being a new experience for him, but not an unpleasant one. He heard Ciel moan when their tongues finally met with each other and the merman pulled at the other's hair when the teen shamelessly started exploring his mouth.

All too soon, Ciel pulled away, leaving the two of them panting for air. The teen rested his forehead upon Sebastian's shoulder, heart beating wildly as he came to realize what he just did. He kissed Sebastian. He_ kissed _Sebastian, and the merman liked it, if the way he was now stroking Ciel's hair was any clue. The deckhand could practically hear his conscience screaming at him for taking advantage of Sebastian liked that, but he would deal with with those thoughts later, when the merman _wasn't _stroking the side of his leg with his silver tail.

Ciel shivered at this and moved to pull Sebastian in for another kiss, when his eyes caught sight of the clock hanging just above the tank. He sighed, wrapping both arms around the raven's waist now and hugging him tightly. He was supposed to go downstairs and wake Claude up a half hour ago.

Sebastian noticed the teens sudden change and followed his eye sight up to the clock, remembering that when the clock looked like that, it was time for Ciel to go and for someone else to come up here. The merman sighed as well, not wanting this moment to end.

''I got to go.'' Ciel said after a while before releasing the merman and going over to the side to get out.

Sebastian said nothing as he reluctantly let him go and watched him lock the top of the tank with a somber expression.

Ciel climbed down the ladder and suddenly pressed his right hand flat against the tank. Sebastian raised an eyebrow at this and placed his hands up against the glass where the teen's hand was. ''Sebastian...'' The teen started hesitantly. ''I apologize for-''

''Don't.'' Sebastian cut him off, his signature smirk in place. ''I rather enjoyed it.'' He said and Ciel smiled at him softly in response.

''I'll see you tomorrow.'' He said, picking up the ladder so that he could put it away.

''I will be here.'' Sebastian said, letting his hand slide down the glass slowly.

''I know...'' Ciel said, sighing as he turned to leave. ''That's what bothers me...''

* * *

The next day had Sebastian in a much better mood than before. Ciel had actually forgotten his eye patch in his tank last night and the merman had spent the better part of the morning playing with it before Ciel demanded that he gave it back.

Sebastian sighed as he watched the teen wring out his patch. ''You ruin all my fun.'' He said, already missing the feel of the fabric. ''Why must you be such a stick in the sand?''

''I wasn't a 'stick in the sand' last night.'' Ciel shot back, smirking when Sebastian looked away. The teen put his eye patch down to dry in the sun and then stretched his arms over his head. He hadn't gotten basically any sleep last night, his thoughts too focused on Sebastian.

The merman crossed his arms as he continued to look in the opposite direction. ''Yes well...I suppose that you weren't.'' He mumbled softly but Ciel heard him and walked closer to the tank so that they were face to face.

The two smiled softly at each other and Ciel was about to say something when Meyrin ran past them both like a hurricane. Now, the female was always being clutsy and running on the wet deck, crashing into things along the way so Ciel wouldn't have been that concerned...if she wasn't heading towards where they kept the harpoons.

''What's the matter?'' The teen asked as Grell and Agni ran back there as well.

Ciel blinked when Meyrin removed her glasses, a serious look upon her face. ''Whale. Off the port bow.'' She said stiffly, handing harpoons to the other whalers as Ash and Undertaker made their way to where she was.

'_Oh no..._' Ciel suddenly thought to himself, turning his eyes to Sebastian, who looked very confused about what was going on.

''Oh yes!'' Grell swooned as he put a hand to his forehead, watching the far off whale spout water from his blow hole. ''I have been _dying_ to test out this puppy!'' He said triumphantly, twirling his all red harpoon in the air.

''Hee Hee you shall have to wait, I wager.'' Undertaker said from behind him, that creepy smile on his face. ''I call first blood.''

''Stop fighting and let us board the boats.'' Ash commanded, taking lead of the situation. ''We have a job to do, people.''

'_Ciel..._' Said teen tore his eyes away from the whaler's preparing for battle to look at Sebastian, who was frowning. '_What is going on?_' He asked the deckhand telepathically so as not to draw attention to them, though it probably wouldn't have mattered if Sebastian talked at this point. Everyone on board was in a frenzy.

Ciel hesitated to answer...

* * *

**Whoo~! Another chap done! I honestly didn't think that I'd get this one done to be honest :/ I procrastinated WWWAAAAYYY too much...oops 0.0 Well anywhere here it is, ta da!~ I hope you guys enjoyed the tidbit of CielxSeb up there and also do not shoot me for the cliffhanger cuz then you shall never know what happens. Bwahaha!**

**Anyways, here is some responses/answers to people:**

Charlie** and **Myra90**: About the asthma thing :/ I really don't know if I would be able to fit it in because I already have the entire plot for this story written out so I don't know if I can include it. Sorry :/ But don't worry, there shall be plenty of 'worry time' in the future for the both of them XD**

Snow Whites Poison Kiss**: About my 'focusing powers'. Well, I procrastinate just as much as you probably but I actually have anxiety about anything time related. Like if I think that I'm gonna be late for work, I start freaking out and such. So I suppose that is what makes me update every week cuz I start to freak out when I start to run out of time cuz..I don't know I guess my mind thinks that you guys are gonna throw tomatoes at me if I don't update or something like that lol XD My advice for staying on track would just be to pick a day of the week where you hate something that you have to do that day, which is Saturday for me cuz I have to work for a LONG PERIOD of time :/ Sux. And then just update that day so you have reviews to look forward to when you get home :] Yep :]...Sorry for the long answer lol XD**

**THANK YOU for all the attention to my story and please continue to review if you like my story :] As I said before, it gets me moving and such :D Yep Yep. Well see you guys later :D Don't forget to review! Ja~!**

**~Migoto Nami**

* * *

~Random Short~ (Inspired by 'Can I have Your Numba' from MadTV and Requested by BlueIsMyFavoriteNumber XD)(Sorry for any mistakes. Again, I gotta post then hit the road)

Sebastian sighed to himself as he watched the kittens play in their cage through a window at Petco. Cats really are wonderful creatures. He stood straight and checked his pocket watch to find that he had just enough time to purchase his master's cake before heading back to the mansion.

''Oh My!~''

Sebastian blinked at the random exclamation from someone and turned around. He lifted an eyebrow when he saw no one before shrugging and heading off to the bakery.

''Ooooohh Mmyyyy!~ What a goooorrrggeeeouuuss maaaann!~''

Sebastian looked behind him and finally caught a glimpse of a red headed figure riding a hobby horse in the playground down on the other side of the street. He quickly looked away and kept on walking.

''Okay...Okay...''

Sebastian sighed when he heard Grell's annoying voice fade. He had nearly made it to the bakery when said redhead popped out of nowhere next to him, nearly scaring the demon half to death.

''Hello Bassy~!'' Grell beamed, grabbing onto the butler's arm. ''Can I talk with you for a minute?''

''No.'' Sebastian said and wretched his arm out of the reaper's grip. He sighed when Grell just clung to his side instead.

''I just wanted to let you know Se-bast-ian.'' He emphasized the syllables of the raven's name with pokes to his side. ''That your ass is redicalous.'' Sebastian looked down at the redhead with a disgusted look upon his face. ''I could roast marshmallows on that sweet booty!~''

Sebastian shivered and ripped away before Grell could grope him on that particular part of his body. ''Uh...thank you?'' He said, not really knowing what else to say in this situation.

''You are most welcome Bassy!~'' Grell said and then disappeared as fast as he had shown up.

''...Whatever.'' Sebastian dismissed before heading over to the bakery. The display cakes in the windows were at a lower level than what he could see properly so he bent over slightly to get a better view.

The demon nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt someone press their front against his raised behind.

''So where's your boyfriend, Sebby?'' Grell asked, smiling sweetly at Sebastian, who jerked away from him.

''I...who?'' Sebastian asked, placing a hand to his racing heart. How come he hadn't sensed the reaper coming?

''You know, your boyfriend. Your master. Your little twat? Where your master at? Is he getting you refreshments? Is he getting you guys comdams? Does he like to be protected? Does it feel better for the both of you if you are protectad? Is he getting snickers? Oh you like snickers? Is he coming back? Where your master at?''

''First of all my master is not my boyfriend.'' Sebastian said, slightly overwhelmed with all the questions.

''Oh he isn't? Oh alright that's cool.'' Grell said before Sebastian could answer any more of his questions. ''So listen.'' Sebastian frowned when the redhead invaded his personal space. ''Can I have your numbah, Bassy? Can I have it? Can you give me the secret code that would be considered your gorgeous ass number?'' He pleaded, moving ever closer to the demon.

''No!'' Sebastian said incredulously, backing away from the crazy redhead. ''Now if you would please leave me to my work.''

''But Bassy, you and I could have such a good time together.'' Grell grabbed onto the butler's coat and started pulling the raven's face down so that they could kiss.

''**Ahem.**'' A very angry voice cut in. Sebastian blinked and looked behind Grell before sighing at what he saw.

''Skully!''

''**Hi honey. Is this PUNK bothering you?**'' Skully asked in a very pissed off voice, ripping Grell away from his Sebastian.

''No. I wasn't bothering him. I was just-''

''**Messing with my raven. Well I'll teach you to mess with my mate! ALPHONSO! SICK EM!**'' Grell yiped when suddenly a giant jellyfish started chasing him out of nowhere. The redhead cried as he ran away, getting shocked multiple times in the process.

When they were finally alone, Sebastian sighed dreamily. ''Oh Skully. You do care.''

''That's right baby.'' Skully said, voice returning to normal as he picked up Sebastian bridal style. ''Let's never fight again.''

''Oh skully!~'' Sebastian kissed his skeleton as he was carried off into the sunset as he could hear Grell screaming off in the background.

''AAAAHHH! Ooooh! Oooooo! Don't sting me there Alphonso or we will have a mess on our hands ~!''


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Black Butler belongs to Yana Toboso. If I owned Sebastian...let's just say he would never leave my bedroom. Ever. He'd be my little sex slave...ahem...yea. Also, the image is not mine. And do you guys know how hard it is to find a pic of Bassy as a mermaid? It is neigh impossible, I tell you! **

**Songs Listened To When Writing: Stone Tower Temple Remix by Elegyofawesomeness on youtube, What I've Done by Linkin Park, Kiss Kiss by Tarkan**

**P.S. This ENTIRE fic was inspired by the song 'Virginia Company' from the movie, Pocahontas. Can you believe that? I sure have an imagination, lol**

_**WARNING: STUFF GETS **_**REAL****_ FROM HERE ON OUT GUYS! THIS CHAPTER HAS WHALING IN IT! IF THIS OFFENDS YOU, CLICK AWAY NOW CUZ I DON'T WANT TO BE YELLED AT. I DON'T SUPPORT WHALING EITHER! :'[ YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED..._**

* * *

Ciel was speechless as he stared at Sebastian, having no way to explain what was about to happen. The merman frowned, looking from the silent deckhand to the whalers. Agni, Meyrin, Grell, Undertaker, Hannah(who decided to come along basically because she was bored) and Ash had now boarded two small ships and were heading out into the open ocean. Sebastian could make out a jet of water shooting up into the air a ways away and a feeling of dread started to overcome the raven as he started to put two and two together.

Thunder erupted overhead before rain started to downpour upon everyone. Ciel gulped silently as he watched the merman swim as close as he could to where Ash and the others had taken off to. Sebastian put his hands onto the glass as he watched, eyes widening at the scene before him.

* * *

The waves were starting to become bigger as the two boats came to a stop on either side of their prey. ''Fire at will!'' Ash commanded when the whale was close enough. It was a juvenile Right Whale, probably just having separated from it's mother's side to live life in solitude. This type of whale was a perfect target for their ship because the animal was still small and learning how to survive. This made it easier for the whalers to catch it and also meant that they didn't need as much men in order to do so.

The Biàntài Hǎidào was a medium-sized ship and was therefore much smaller than the other ships in the whaling business. But it was fast and nimble, meaning that in the time it took for a much larger ship to catch a large whale, their ship had already caught two whales in the meantime. Captain Lau had successfully used this method for years and he conserved money by doing so. Less necessary manpower meant that he didn't have to spend as much money and space by having a big crew. So there were only six actual whalers on the ship while most other ships had well over twenty men. Their ship had quality over quantity in its whalers, though, and Lau never hesitated to enlist only the best of the best into his crew.

The sound of the whale howling in pain could be heard over the downpour as Undertaker's spear struck the sea giant's back first. The white-haired male cackled at Grell as blood oozed out of the wound. ''I told you that I would get first blood tee hee.''

''Ooo!'' Grell fumed, taking up his red spear. ''I wanted to be first!'' He complained and then another howl was heard as Meyrin stuck her weapon into the whale next.

''Ha ha looks like you're going to have to settle for a bronze metal.'' The Undertaker teased again. The redhead growled in response, shooting his own spear at the whale in anger, striking it deep into the creature's spine.

''Ha! Top that!'' Grell boasted, cockily pulling down his index and middle fingers with his thumbs to make rock and roll symbols with his fingers.

''Enough.'' Ash said, causing the redhead to scoff in annoyance at the other whaler's attitude. ''We are here to work, not jest. Now release the sacs into the ocean.''

Grell grumbled to himself as he and the Undertaker did what they were told, throwing their balls made of seal skins into the ocean. They were heavy, and served the purpose of slowing the whale down. The dragging weight eventually caused it to tire and stop, making for easy prey. Ash, Hannah and Agni threw their harpoons as well and cast their balls into the water. Both Ash and Agni's harpoons were tied to their ships though, so the whale couldn't get to far while hauling both the skins and their ships.

Their method was a dangerous one, like all other whaling methods, but it served its purpose as the whale started to swim away, dragging all the weight behind it. It tried to swim underneath the water to escape several times, but the buoyant weight and Agni's inhuman strength pulled it up and kept it on top of the water. In a matter of an hour or two, the whale tired and Ash did not hesitate in making the rest of the crew spear the animal a final time. When he was sure that the whale would not react anymore, Ash turned them around and headed back to the Biàntài Hǎidào, dragging the exhausted whale along with them.

* * *

Water rushed in and out of Sebastian's gills at an alarming rate. He had seen everything, had heard everything. He had listened to every single one of that whale's cries for mercy. All the while he kept thinking to himself, '_I am next...''_

''Sebastian!'' Ciel cried desperately over the overwhelming noise of the harsh rain meeting the deck as he banged on the tank. This wasn't good. The teen could tell right away that Sebastian was going into shock. The merman had his back pressed up against the glass, as far away from the whalers as he could possibly go. Sebastian's red eyes were widened and he was totally unresponsive to Ciel.

The deckhand cursed and ran to the bow of the ship. The wood was slippery and no one else was on deck, everyone having taken shelter from the storm. Ciel grabbed a ladder and made his way back to Sebastian as fast as he could. His fingers trembled as he placed the ladder down and climbed up, undoing the lock to the merman's prison when it was within reach.

Once it was open, Ciel didn't hesitate to get into the tank. The teen could practically feel the silent fear coming off of the merman and it only made him that much more worried. ''Sebastian! Hey!'' He shouted, grabbing onto the raven's shoulders and shaking him to try and get his attention. ''Sebastian, look at me!'' When the merman still didn't respond, he grabbed onto the sea creature's face. ''Look. At. Me!''

Large wine-red eyes finally looked at Ciel and the teen sighed in relief. He stroked the merman's cheek as his other hand slid down to the raven's shoulder. ''You must calm down.'' Ciel said over the deafening noise of the rain. ''You are safe. I would never let anyone kill you.'' The teen said, somehow knowing that was the reason that the man-fish was so disturbed. Ciel knew that it wasn't the fact that a sea creature had just been killed, Sebastian himself killed sea creatures every day to survive. No, Sebastian saw that whole display as an example of what was about to come. That he would be the next one to die...in the same way.

Sebastian eyes returned to their normal size as he looked away. Ciel frowned at the raven's emotionless expression and moved to talk to him when suddenly he was ripped out of the tank by a rough hand on his bicep.

Ciel winced in pain and glared up at Claude, silently cursing the man for taking him away from Sebastian when the merman clearly needed him right now. ''What the hell, Claude?!'' He shouted over the rain.

The other male's gaze narrowed until his golden orbs were nothing but slits. "I could ask the same of you, Phantomhive. Care to explain why you were in the creature's tank?"

''Phantomhive!'' William's angry voice pierced through the harsh weather before Ciel could retort, making the boy frown. ''Come inside. Now. Let's have a little chat.''

* * *

Ciel rubbed at his bruised arm as he sat down across from William at the table downstairs in the eating hall. William put his elbows on the table and laced his fingers together, looking over the appendages at Ciel with angered eyes.

''Phantomhive. I believe that I have told you already to keep your distance from that particular piece of the ship's property.''

Ciel frowned and slammed his fists onto the table in front of them. ''Stop saying that!'' The teen snapped, answering the business man's heated gaze with a poisonous glare of his own. ''Sebastian is not property!''

William cocked a brow. "Sebastian? Don't tell me you've gone and given it a name. I think that's a little presumptuous, seeing as how the animal _does not _belong to you.'' William frowned and let his hands rest down on the table. ''Also, I suggest you not raise your voice to me, Phantomhive.'' William said, fixing his glasses. ''You will learn to regret it.''

''I do not care! I have had it with this ship's conduct!'' Ciel all but shouted, standing up suddenly. ''How can you imprison him like this? This whole endeavor makes us no better than slave traders.''

William sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. ''I expected better from you Phantomhive. I truly did. You never caused trouble until we caught that hideous creature.'' Ciel's eye twitched at the man's words but William continued on anyway. The business man tapped his index finger against the table harshly, the gesture symbolizing that his next words were final. ''I allowed you to be near that being as long as you didn't cause trouble, but what happened back there was unacceptable. You could have caused serious damage.'' Ciel visibly remained stoic on the outside, but he did bite onto his lower lip as the business man continued. ''I along with Ran-Mao and the captain are responsible for all lives on board. This includes yours, Phantomhive. I cannot allow you to be alone with that creature if you continue to act this way. From now on you will be made to stay away from that creature and be supervised during the day and your night shift. Also, you will never again step inside that tank. Do I make myself clear?''

Ciel stared down at William with poison in his eyes. His fists shook and he wanted so desperately to punch the business man in his stiff face. But he couldn't. Not if he wanted to keep his position on board. Ciel could feel his heart practically break in two as he stiffly muttered, ''Crystal.''

* * *

After that, Ciel could only watch from a far as Sebastian covered his ears to try and drown out the horrible sound of the still alive whale being skinned for it's blubber and other important parts. Bard and Hannah were merciless as they harvested their catch along with the help of the rest of the whalers. The sea creature's cries were echoing loudly over the sound of the quickly calming rain.

To Ciel, this was a normal occurrence. After years of seeing countless whales being torn apart, he had grown accustomed to the gruesome act; this being an example of the circle of life after all. But now, Ciel was enlightened again to just how cruel and wrong whaling truly was. The teenager's stomach churned as he watched Sebastian slightly tremble. He wanted to go over there and comfort the merman so badly, but he couldn't. Not with Claude watching him like a hawk.

The navigator currently had his back to Ciel as he guided the ship through the storm. The teen might have tried to get closer to Sebastian since Claude was faced the other way, but the deckhand knew better. Claude had the best eyes on the sea, as well as eyes in the back of his head. He could see everything. There was no way to sneak away from him, which was why William assigned him to watch over the teen.

Ciel sighed and got up from his spot atop one of the barrels at the back of the ship. He clothes were thoroughly soaked now, but he didn't care. He refused to go inside until he knew that Sebastian was okay.

The teenager shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked past Sebastian and leaned his back against the side of the ship across from the tank. This was the exact spot where he had played his violin for Sebastian all those nights ago when he had caught the merman more or less crying. Ciel frowned at the memory and crossed his arms, taking a moment to compose himself before trying something that he had been thinking about for the past hour.

'_Sebastian..._' Ciel thought to himself. '_Can you hear me?_' It felt incredibly awkward for him to try and talk to another being through his own thoughts, but Sebastian had penetrated his mind to talk to him numerous times. So why couldn't he hear Ciel's thoughts as well?

The merman didn't react and Ciel sighed. If they couldn't communicate this way then he didn't know what he was going to do. He couldn't just leave Sebastian suffering like this by himself, but with Claude breathing down his neck there was no way that he could get close to the merman. He had to talk to him, but how? The teen brought his index finger up to his lip in thought.

'_Yes..._' Ciel was slightly startled when Sebastian's voice suddenly spoke within his head. He looked at the merman to find that Sebastian had his back to him, and that his hands were no longer covering his ears. It was then that Ciel noticed that the whale's crying had stopped and he frowned, knowing what that meant...

'_Sebastian, listen._' Ciel thought, biting onto his lower lip to keep himself from actually speaking his words. It would seem that this was a lot harder than it looked. '_I can't imagine what you are feeling. I know that you must be thoroughly disturbed and...disgusted right now._' Ciel paused for a moment before thinking his next words. '_But you must know that I would NEVER let anyone do that to you. I...I would die first before I let that happen.'_

There was a silence between them for a long while. Sebastian didn't respond again and Ciel sighed. He really couldn't blame the merman for being so distraught right now, though, and turned to leave. He had said what he wanted to say to the merman; that he was safe. That Ciel would protect him. The teenager swore to it.

'_I believe you..._'

Sebastian's whispering voice echoed in his mind again and Ciel stopped, eyes widening for a second before the teen looked at the merman. Sebastian was looking back at him from over his shoulder,a small smile rested upon his lips. Ciel blinked before returning the facial expression softly and continuing on his way...

* * *

Lau puffed out a string of smoke as he held his phone up to his ear, humming a little tune to himself as he listened to what the person on the other end of the line was saying. William had approached him a little bit after dinner and had said that he had found a high paying buyer for their goods. Lau at first had been confused when the business man had led him to his quarters and handed him the telephone with a smug smirk on his face, but now he knew why...

''So...six thousand dollars hm?'' Lau said, taking another drag of his dragon-shaped pipe. ''That's quite a lot of money...what's it for?''

''It's for you to sell me that merman!'' A gruff voice answered on the other line. ''I will pay you six thousand, in cash. And that doesn't even count the whale you just caught.''

''I see, I see. Hold on a moment, if you will.'' Lau said and took the phone away from his ear and RanMao placed her hand over the receiver. He looked at William, who had a cocky look upon his face. ''So this is what you came up with? This is most impressive.''

''Yes. Long John Silvers is a fast growing museum show casing the rarest creatures from the ocean. They offered the most money for that creature and also have a business partner near by that is willing to buy our whale for a decent price.'' William said, leaning back against the couch he was sitting on. He held up his hand when Lau moved to congratulate him. ''But there's a catch...''

''Oh? And what would that be?'' Lau asked as both he and Ranmao eagerly leaned forward to hear the news.

''They want the merman dead and preserved by the time we reach port. No exceptions.''

''So he is worth more dead than alive, like Claude originally thought...'' Lau sighed, leaning back against his own couch as Ranmao wrapped her arms around his neck.

''Yes. More research can be conducted about the creature's eating habits, life style, and body parts if the specimen is already dead. This way they can figure out where more of them live and find them at a later date.'' William explained, waving some stray pipe smoke away from his face. ''If he were alive, we would have only gotten half that same amount.''

''Oh...It appears that I have lost the bet then.'' The captain laughed, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. William patiently waited as Lau resumed his conversation on the phone. They talked for a few more minutes about their deal before the captain agreed and hung up the phone. ''Well shoot. You are right. I suppose I'll just have to let Claude do it then. Ha ha.''

''Let him do what specifically?'' William asked, intrigued. It wasn't often that Claude went out of his way to gamble, let alone talk, with other people besides he and Ash. He only spoke to Lau when it was necessary, so this had the business man curious.

''I bet that if I won then he would have to dance around the eating hall in a chicken costume.'' Lau laughed at the thought before shaking his head to clear his mind of the funny scene. ''But that won't be happening since I lost. What a shame, right, Ranmao?'' The chinese girl just nodded.

''So what does Claude acquire now that he has won?'

''Well, it was a rather unusual request. He wanted to be the one to dispose of the merman.'' Lau explained, tapping his chin with his index finger. ''Which is fine by me. I would rather let him do that than pay him money, ha ha.'' The captain tilted RanMao's chin up to look at her face. ''And this way, we won't get our hands dirty. So I don't mind.''

''Seaweed...'' RanMao uttered as William got up, waving more smoke away from his face.

''I will go inform him then.'' The business man said, turning to leave the room. Honestly, this was just unsanitary.

''Oh and William.'' Lau called out, making the man stop at the door. The captain's eyes hardened as he said his next words. ''Tell him that I don't care how he does it, just make sure it is at night when we are almost to port. We haven't told the crew about the possibility of killing that creature and it would cause an uproar if he were to dispose of it in broad daylight.''

''Understood.'' William said and grabbed onto the door handle, but stopped his movements when Lau continued.

''Also, make sure that Ciel is not around. You have told me that he has been hanging around the creature more than the others. Do not let him interfere.''

William fixed his glasses before opening the door, uttering out, ''Of course.''

* * *

A few days later found Ciel in a rather irritable mood. He couldn't get close to Sebastian without either Claude or Ash reprimanding him. This forced Ciel and Sebastian to have to talk telepathically, which had taken a lot longer to get used to then the teenager would have liked.

Also, now that Ciel was acknowledging Claude a lot more(because the navigator was watching him like a hawk), he noticed that the man kept giving Sebastian weird looks. Claude would push up his glasses and smirk at the merman whenever Sebastian was looking the other way and this made Ciel uneasy. Like Claude knew something that the teen didn't know. He didn't like it, especially after what happened with the whale.

The giant sea creature had been thoroughly cleaned and preserved by now, the rest of the whale's body that wasn't used having been thrown into the ocean. That familiar smell was once again making itself known throughout the ship and it was as nauseating as always to Ciel, who could only imagine how much worse it was for Sebastian. The teen could guess that the merman's sense of smell was much more heightened than his, seeing as Sebastian could hear what Ciel thought, among other things.

Through their short telepathic conversations, Ciel had explained to the merman why they could no longer be in close proximity with one another. As expected, Sebastian wasn't too happy about this, but he surprisingly didn't put up that much of a fight about it either. That was what made Ciel even more worried. Yes, it was true that Sebastian couldn't do anything to help their situation, and neither could Ciel honestly, but the teen had expected at least SOMETHING out of the merman.

In fact, ever since the whale incident, Sebastian had been acting differently. The male hardly ever jested with Ciel like he usually did and he always had a far off look in his eyes. At first, Ciel thought it was because that whole ordeal had freaked him out, but no. It wasn't just the whale thing anymore. Now there was something else on top of that, and Ciel couldn't tell what is was. Whenever he confronted the merman about it, Sebastian would always answer, 'I sense something', and not give any more information. As if the merman himself didn't know what was going to happen either.

Ciel sighed as he sat down at one of the barrels at the back of the ship. He shivered slightly because of the cool night air and looked out at the waves silently. The deckhand had overheard Claude, William and the captain talking earlier about how they were almost to port, at least three days away. This fact was making Ciel uneasy because he knew that going back to land meant selling Sebastian. There wasn't much time left, and if Ciel didn't do something soon...the teen didn't even want to think about it.

Ciel looked over at Sebastian, who was now laying down to get some rest. It was getting to be around that time for the teen to begin his shift and it was normal for Sebastian to doze off around this time. The two of them had briefly talked with each other earlier that day, but no more so than that. The teen could tell that the merman was more tense than usual today. So he had decided to leave the merman alone for the rest of the day as he tried to figure out what he was going to do. The deckhand knew now that he should let Sebastian go at the first opportunity, but that opportunity was pretty much gone now because Claude was breathing down his neck all the time.

Ciel sighed again as he brought his cigarette up to his lips to take a drag. He had stolen the stick from Bard when the chef hadn't been looking and Ciel couldn't bring himself to care whether or not he got in trouble for his actions. The teen usually didn't smoke unless he was really desperate for some nicotine relief, and that was exactly what he needed right about now.

Just as Ciel was going to take another puff, his stick was suddenly wrenched away from him. ''Hey!'' Ciel said angrily, looking off to his right to find the real Tanaka stamping out his cigarette against the side of the ship.

''Ciel what have I told you about smoking?'' Tanaka asked, a smile on his face. Ciel gulped, knowing that the old man's smile was just a ruse to disguise the cook's completely outraged expression below the surface. ''You are young, and you mustn't widdle your health away with these useless things.'' Tanaka threw the ruined cigarette over the side of the ship.

''I just...really needed one right now.'' Ciel confessed, looking off to the side.

Tanaka smiled, a sort of grandfatherly look overwhelming his eyes as he rested his hand upon Ciel's shoulder. The teen flinched and looked back at the old man. ''Ciel. You know, you have been acting strangely for a long while now.'' The man paused for a second to see if the teen would explain himself. When Ciel remained silent, he continued. ''I know that something is bothering you, everyone does. And I know that...'' Tanaka looked over at Sebastian. ''You think that what we are doing is wrong.'

''Because it is.'' Ciel said firmly, eyes hardening as he too looked over at Sebastian. ''I swear that he is just like one of us. He doesn't deserve this.''

''Trust me, I know.'' Tanaka said, tightening his grip on the boy's shoulder slightly. ''Agni, Meyrin, Finny and myself are all on your side, Ciel. We don't think it's right to imprison him...But what can we do? We have jobs to keep, families to feed.'' Tanaka looked down at Ciel with saddened eyes. ''You should think wisely about what is most important here, and protect it once you make your decision.''

Ciel blinked and looked over at Tanaka when a puff of smoke erupted. Chibi Tanaka saluted Ciel with his usual santa impression before heading off downstairs to go to bed like everyone else on board.

Ciel shook his head, a small smile coming onto his face. Protect what is most important, huh? Ciel could already answer that question in a heartbeat. To him, Sebastian had become someone very important to him. So much so that Ciel couldn't dream of ever letting him be sold. No, even if Ciel had to release the merman himself or pay William the money with his own earnings, he would never let that happen.

The air was a bit chilly that night, even more so than usual as the teen prepared for his job. While Ciel figured that he could just warm up while working, with his asthma he didn't want to take any chances. "I guess I'll go get my sweater then." He mumbled to himself, setting down his cleaning supplies and turning on to his heal to head under the deck. The stairwell was very dark at this time of night, but Ciel's trained legs knew where each bump, creak and split was in this wood. Every single time he'd gone down these steps, it'd been the same. They were dark, empty and quiet...But not tonight.

Ciel felt the prickling of his hair standing up on the back of his neck as he continued towards his destination. It was that feeling you get when you just knew there was something or some_one_ behind you. Ciel stopped for a second, just listening for a second. A moment later he could hear someone breathing and fear blossomed in his chest. There was someone with him in the stair well, and this person obviously didn't want Ciel to know they were there. A fraction of a second later something blunt connected with the back of Ciel's head. Pain bloomed in his skull, over his face and down his neck. He tried to cry out, but his vision swam up with tears as the ground rushed up to meet him.

* * *

Ash grunted as he caught the unconscious teenager in his arms, wobbling a little bit before steadying himself. The whaler pushed Ciel's bangs away from his face and looked him over, nodding to himself when he found the boy to be completely knocked out. He looked up at Claude as the navigator stepped out of the shadow of the stairs, a club slung over his shoulder.

''Did you really have to hit him that hard?'' Ash whispered, making sure that his voice wouldn't wake up anyone. When the navigator had approached him and asked for his help tonight, the white-haired whaler had been happy to oblige. He didn't like the merman either, and was just as ecstatic to see him perish as William and Claude were.

''Yes. I will not have him interfering.'' Claude whispered back, fixing his glasses like William usually did, before turning around and heading upstairs without another word.

''Jesus...I'm going to hell.'' Ash mumbled to himself as he lifted Ciel up into his arms as the navigator left. He felt a bit uneasy about this whole thing. He knew that Ciel would only cause trouble for Claude's mission and that things would go much smoother if the kid was out of the way. But he wasn't expecting for the other male to just beat Ciel over the head with a club. He was only a teenager, for christ's sake.

Ash placed the teen in his bed comfortably before heading out of the room and shutting the door. There was no need to lock it. Due to that harsh blow, the kid would probably be out for hours, which left plenty of time for Claude to accomplish his task.

As the white-haired whaler passed the staircase that led to the deck he paused, placing a hand on the railing and looking up at the night sky through the doorway. He had a bad feeling about what Claude was doing up there, for he too had seen the looks that Claude gave the merman. Ash could tell that something was different about his friend ever since the sea creature had been caught. The man had always been superstitious like Bard, believing in old wive's tales and what not. But now that an actual fantasy creature had been caught, Claude's obsession had been taken to a whole new extreme. Ash sighed before walking down the hall to go to sleep as well. He could only hope that once the creature was gone, Claude could go back to just being himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, in his tank, Sebastian turned over in his sleep as his dream started to intensify. It was the same dream he had been having for days now, ever since that whale had been harpooned. It was a horrible dream, one that never failed to cause him to wake up with his heart racing.

_There was red fire on top of the water all around him. Wooden debris was everywhere he turned and smoke entered his gills with each breath he took. His dream-self refused to go under water though, coughing as he cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted out Ciel's name._

_The teen was no where to be seen and Sebastian scoffed, diving under the water and swimming off in a random direction in search of the blue-eyed boy. His ruby red eyes caught sight of someone clinging to a piece of drift wood in the water and he quickly swam over to them. Sebastian popped his head above the water and sighed in relief when he found Ciel. _

_The merman touched the boy's cheek affectionately, glad to find him alright. ''Ciel...'' He called softly, moving his hand down to the teen's shoulder to shake him awake. ''Hey, Ciel!'' He said, even louder, as the teen refused to wake up. ''CIEL!'' Sebastian cried desperately for a final time, grabbing onto the boy's other shoulder to continue to shake him._

_As he did this, his thumb touched Ciel's neck and the merman stopped immediately. Sebastian pulled his hand back to find it covered in red blood. The merman gulped before reaching out again and touching the spot underneath the boy's neck to feel his pulse, feeling tears come to his eyes when he realized that there was no pulse to feel... _

Sebastian turned over again as his dream faded into nothingness, his mind just filling the void of his sleep with black as he continued to rest. He was blissfully unaware of the sound of his tank's cage being thrown open as someone unscrewed the lock.

Claude smirked as he watched the merman sleep. This would make things so much easier. He held fast onto the chain in his hand as he entered the water as silently as he could. He didn't want to wake the creature, lest the being might attack him in the water.

Claude slowly swam down to the bottom of the tank, watching every movement that the raven made. He froze when Sebastian turned over again, restless from his dream. When he was sure that he was still sleeping, Claude carefully swam over to the merman's tail. He took his chain and wrapped it around the base of the tail securely. He pulled it once gently to make sure that it was secure before swimming up to the surface.

The navigator couldn't believe how easy that had been as he dried his face with a towel. He didn't care to dry the rest of his body, for he was focusing his attentions on much bigger matters right now. Claude put on his glasses as he walked over to a pulley system hidden behind some barrels. The crank was old and rusted from disuse, but still worked decently. Claude had taken some time after knocking out Ciel to come up here and set up the system just the way he wanted it. The man took one more look at the still sleeping raven, a smirk coming onto his face, as he hit the latch to release the cogs of the pulley system.

Sebastian moaned softly as he heard a harsh noise not too far away, slowly opening his eyes as the sound disturbed his sleep. He suddenly let out a startled yell when an unknown force pulled him out of the water by his tail. Sebastian gasped and coughed as he found himself hanging upside down above his tank, his heart beating erratically in his chest.

The merman craned his head up to look at his tail, finding a chain wrapped tightly around it. Sebastian winced as the harsh metal dug into his scales and tried to shift his body to reach up and undo the chain. He almost got to it before the pulley system tugged him off to the side, the deck now below him instead of the tank.

Sebastian frowned in confusion as he was jerked around, looking left and right for the cause of this. Where was Ciel? The teen was supposed to be up here swabbing the deck! And just when Ciel said that he would protect him...what was happening? The merman's red eyes caught sight of a dark figure next to some of the barrels and Sebastian frowned when he saw the ship's navigator come into the light. Ciel had told the merman about him before, but Sebastian couldn't seem to remember the man's name right now.

Sebastian frowned when the human started walking toward him. The raven's eyes caught the familiar metallic glint of a harpoon in his hand and he froze immediately, eyes widening in recognition. This was it. He was going to die just like that whale. '_No! I will not end like this!_' Sebastian thought to himself as he frantically twisted his body again to try and reach the chain around his tail, all the while trying to reach Ciel telepathically.

Claude smirked as he watched the merman fight for his life. This was too much fun, especially since there was no way for the being to get down in that position. The navigator would have liked to play more with the merman's emotions, but the time for fooling around was growing short.

Ruby red eyes widened in fear as Claude finally stopped next to him. At the last moment, the navigator turned his harpoon around to the butt of the shaft and hit the merman hard on his temple before the being could even blink. Claude fixed his glasses as the raven was knocked unconscious before throwing his weapon back at the pulley system with ease. The sound of the cogs turning again met his ears and the man caught Sebastian in his arms as the latch was released again.

Claude removed the chain from around the merman's tail before carrying him to the side of the ship, where a table that hadn't been there before stood. It was one of the kitchen's tables that was specifically used for gutting and scaling fish. There were holes littering the table and large horseshoe shaped nails resting on it. The nails were used to hold down fish easily as one of the chef's cut it open to prepare it. They were shoved into the holes surrounding the fish and then locked in place by a button on the side of the table, rendering the fish captive and completely helpless.

Sebastian was set down on the table as Claude gathered the right size nails needed for his purpose. The man placed the raven's hands on either side of his head, shoving the nails into place around Sebastian's wrists and then locking them down. Claude did the same to the base of the merman's tail, which looked slightly swollen from the chain's abuse.

When he was done, the man nodded as he looked over his work. Now the real fun was about to begin...

* * *

Sebastian awoke coughing again as water was dumped over him. He winced slightly at the pounding in his head that resulted from his gagging. He blinked and looked up, scowling as he saw Claude hovering over him. The raven growled and moved to hit the man with his tail, not liking how close he was, but found that he couldn't. Sebastian frowned when he realized that his tail was being held down by something that he couldn't see and moved to sit up. He felt the color drain out of his face when he realized that his hands were held down as well and looked up at the man, pure anger in his eyes.

''So you're awake.'' Sebastian flinched when his chin was grabbed, a thumb stroking over the skin of his jaw softly. ''Good.''

Sebastian frowned, retching his chin away and glaring death at the man. He had had enough of messing around, it was time to speak. ''What are you doing?'' The merman practically hissed, ripping away again when Claude made to grab at his chin for the second time.

''Ah, so you can speak.'' The navigator observed, letting the merman have his space as he took off his glasses. He wouldn't need them for what he was about to do. ''I figured as much.'' Claude mumbled to himself before getting up onto the table himself and straddling the merman's waist.

Sebastian gasped and his eyes widened when he suddenly felt one of the man's fingers tease his left nipple. He shivered when Claude licked up the side of his neck before biting down and sucking on it. ''What are you doing?! Stop this immediately!'' The merman flinched when the navigator slammed his hands down on the table next to his ears.

''Tell me.'' Claude whispered sensually, leaning down so that Sebastian could feel the man's breath against his face. ''I have heard tales about humans gaining life long health, luck, even certain..._abilities_ by having intercourse with mercreatures.'' Sebastian's eyes widened as the reality of that statement began to sink in. ''Is it true?''

''Wh-what?! No!'' Sebastian stuttered, feeling goosebumps appear on his skin as the man traced his hand down his side to rest on his hip.

''You don't sound too sure of that.'' Claude teased, loving every minute of this. It was no secret that the being in front of him was gorgeous, even if he _was_ part fish. This moment had been all that he had been thinking about ever since the merman had been caught; it was why he jumped at the chance of getting to dispose of the merman. It would give him the necessary alone time to accomplish his wishes before he had to exterminate the raven. And now that the time was finally here, Claude was planning on enjoying every minute of it, even if time was scarce. ''Let's test it, shall we?'' The human grabbed onto Sebastian's chin again before connecting their lips in a heated kiss, Claude completely overpowering the captured raven.

Sebastian's breath hitched at the man's tongue invaded his mouth, wanting to desperately to bite down on the wet appendage but being unable to because of the grip on his chin. He didn't like this. It didn't feel anything like his kiss with Ciel had been. This was forced, rougher. Not anything like the teenager's sweet and gentle kiss.

Sebastian gasped for breath when his mouth was finally released, taking needy gulps of air. He was beginning to feel his gills start to tighten as the absence of water was starting to take its tole. This wasn't good. He wouldn't be able to survive out of water for much longer; a few minutes at best.

Claude trailed his hand down the merman's back slowly, enjoying how the small action earned him a shiver from the raven. He continued downward and then smirked when he found the being's entrance. The merman's eyes widened and he struggled to get out of his grip, but Claude didn't care about his feelings right now. There wasn't a lot of time left, he would have to mind his actions.

''Stop this!'' Sebastian demanded as the man leaned down and swirled his tongue around the merman's perky nipple before doing the same to the other. ''Stop!'' Sebastian said again, louder this time, as he felt one of the man's fingers tease his entrance.

Claude threw his free hand over the being's mouth before shoving his finger index inside of the merman's puckered hole. There were scales covering the soft entrance, and they dug into his skin slightly as he pushed his digit in all the way, but he didn't care though. The moans and yells coming from the merman more than made up for the slight pain. He wanted so badly to hear those cute little sounds but knew better of it. It might wake the others, after all.

Sebastian closed his eyes tightly as two more fingers were simultaneously added and continued thrusting into him along with the first one. The merman desperately started thrashing against his bonds and swishing his tail in an attempt to break free. He wished that Ciel was here, to stop this. The merman always felt safer when the teen was around. He had never felt that way with anyone except for his family. Ciel... Ciel was always so kind to him. So gentle. He would never think of harming him in this way...

''You little slut.'' Sebastian was brought back into reality as he felt Claude bite at his earlobe, licking the shell of his ear afterwords. ''You're so wet already...'' The man shoved his fingers into the moist entrance to prove his point, making Sebastian groan. ''And I haven't even started yet.'' The merman flinched when the human moved from his ear to his neck, biting down on a different spot than he had earlier. ''Stop trying to hide it...you like this don't you?'' Claude didn't use enough force to make marks, though, seeing as the merman's body was going to a museum after this.

Sebastian didn't respond to the harsh words and Claude took that as his cue to finish what he started; the merman was prepared enough. Claude unlatched the nail around the merman's tail and grabbed the base harshly, shoving the tail up against the raven's chest before he could smack him. This made Sebastian's body shape into a V awkwardly and the mercreature winced at the harsh angle.

He could hear the sound of fabric moving and Sebastian's eyes widened when his brain finally realized what was about to happen. With strength that he didn't know he had left, the merman ripped his tail out of the human's grip and smacked him harshly in the face before he could react, causing Claude to remove himself from over Sebastian.

Claude staggered back as he was hit, bringing the back of his hand to his face to wash away the blood. He looked down at the creature on the table with hatred in his eyes. He didn't think the being would fight back like that. He took a few calming breaths before regaining his composure the best he could.

''St...Stay away.'' Sebastian panted, tail still in mid-air, ready to attack the man again if he came near.

''Fine then.'' Claude said suddenly, dusting off his clothes. ''If you do not wish to submit to me so easily then I will strike up a deal with you.'' Sebastian raised an eyebrow at this but otherwise remained silent, curious to see what the man was planning. ''Give me what I desire, and I will set you free when we are finished. Isn't that what you most desire here?''

Sebastian's eyes widened as the man said this. Yes, that was what he wanted. What he _yearned for_ ever since he had been caught. Freedom. It sounded too good to be true now, after all this time being locked up...

''I can give it to you.'' Once again the human was hovering over him and Sebastian had to bite his lip in order to keep himself from hitting him again. ''I can release you from this prison...and all you'd have to do is submit to me for this one night.''

Sebastian wanted desperately to believe the man, but one look into his golden eyes and he knew. He _knew_ that the man was lying. He wouldn't set him free after they were done, no. It was all lies, all stupid conniving lies. He would never get out of here. Sebastian knew that now.

''No...'' Sebastian finally whispered softly. ''No!'' He shouted, hitting the man off of him again with his tail.

Claude scoffed and combed back his hair with his fingers, deciding to take matters into his own hands now. He had tried to be nice, but the merman had refused. He decided to use for now instead.

Sebastian would not be taken, though, and wouldn't let the human near him no matter how hard he tried. He could sense that his gills couldn't take much longer being away from water, but he didn't let that stop him. He wouldn't give in to this pervert. Not anymore. After a very long time of trying, Claude finally scoffed and gave the merman space. ''Fine. Suffocate up here for all I care. I will take great pleasure in finding your dead body on deck come the morn.''

Sebastian watched silently, feeling himself starting to pant harshly in an attempt to breathe. Claude walked over to the tank, kneeled down and twisted a handle down near the bottom. This let out all the water from inside and Sebastian watched in horror as all of the liquid disappeared over the side of the ship via a small drainage system in the wooden floorboards of the deck.

''Enjoy your night.'' Claude grumbled out angrily before leaving the merman to die, heading down the stairs to get some rest. He was quite angered by the nights events...

Sebastian coughed when he was finally left alone, feeling tears start to come to his eyes. He had never felt this extreme pain in his gills before. It felt like they were on fire. The merman desperately pulled at his bonds and moved his tail sporadically against the table, trying to set himself free. Where was Ciel? Why wasn't he helping him? Sebastian knew it now. Humans were all the same. Lying, horrible creatures...

After a few moments his tail dropped against the table in exhaustion as he stopped moving altogether. There was nothing left that he could do. He had run out of time...

* * *

**You guys...probably hate me right now...Uh...As I said before, you can't shoot me because then you will never know what happens next! Just keep that in mind! *hides behind Sebby* **

**I'm sorry to any legit ClaudexBassy fans right now. I love that pairing too, I truly do! But SOMEONE had to be the bad person here, and he just fit the bill...sorry Claude! :[ Anyways, THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR OVER SEVENTY REVIEWS! My god, that is the most reviews I have ever gotten for a fic...and it's not even that long! XD THANK YOU! COOKIES FOR EVERYONE! ha ha~! :D I love you all!**

**Anyways, I have one response to give this time:**

BlueIsMyFavoriteNumber**: Hi :D I'm glad that you enjoyed the random short that I wrote for you :D Your request was the first one that I ever got for a specific short and I thought, why not? I like that skit so I'll try lol. XD So I'm glad it turned out okay :D But yea though, I would like to keep it a one time thing for now. :/ Sorry! D: It just makes it easier for me that way cuz the shorts come naturally and I usually don't do them based off of skits. So again, sorry :[ **

**Feel free to ask me questions guys, by the way. I will gladly answer them here or in a PM :] Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys next time! PLEASE REVIEW, it gets my butt goin! :D Ja!~**

**Preview for next time(sorry I didn't put this for the last chap, I forgot lol): It's what you've all been waiting for! Sexy Time between Ciel and Bassy! Koolaid man says, "Oh yyyeeeeaaa!" And I believe there are...two chapters left btw. Just letting you know. :]**

* * *

~Random Short~

Elizabeth Midford hummed to herself as she put her bag down on the super market's floor next to her. She looked back at the aisles for her mother and sighed when she noticed that the blonde woman wasn't back yet. So she guessed that she would just have to just pay for their groceries and then go and find her in the boozes aisle...again.

Lizzy watched absentmindedly as the cashier in front of her started to scan her items. She closed her eyes and smiled at the man when he greeted her, saying a polite 'Hello, how are you?' back at him.

The second time she heard the man's voice was when she realized just how familiar he sounded. She opened her eyes and blinked when she saw a boy around her age with blonde hair and brown eyes. One of the boy's eyes was covered by an eye-patch and the girl recognized her fiance immediately.

''Ciel? What are you doing working here?'' Elizabeth frowned, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

''I don't know what you mean, ma'am. My name-tag clearly says, 'Boquisha Sherice'.'' The boy said and Lizzy glared and placed her hands on her hips.

''Ciel, stop fooling around! I KNOW that it's you!''

''Well shoot.'' Ciel frowned, pressing a few buttons on his computer when a stubborn bundle of scallions wouldn't scan. ''It appears that you are smarter than I thought.''

''What's THAT supposed to mean, Ciel?'' Lizzy huffed angrily.

''Nevermind. Just stop calling me that. Sebastian and I are under cover.'' Ciel whispered as to not draw attention to them.

''You and Sebastian are...under cover?'' Lizzy leaned back and looked down the belt at the bagger, finding a tall man with a huge black afro, glasses and a mustache. ''Sebastian?'' The girl asked incredulously, walking over to him.

The man smiled at her and waved, saying in a gruff voice, ''Yo.''

''Sebastian, what are you doing!? You don't look cute at ALL!''

''That is not _Sebastian_. His name is Flounder.'' Ciel explained as he put the girl's ice cream in a freezer bag.

''Fo shizzle.'' 'Flounder' said, putting the ice cream in a bag when Ciel passed it along to him.

''...Okay...?'' Lizzy said, deciding to let that conversation drop for now and return her attention back to Ciel. ''So why are you under cover?'' The girl said quietly, putting a hand up to her mouth and deciding to play along with whatever scheme here weird fiance had concocted.

''You see that clown over there?'' Ciel asked and Lizzy looked over to the front of the store where the boy was gesturing too. ''He's too happy. Every time I come in here he's always like, 'Hey there little boy, have a balloon!~'".

''So?'' Lizzy asked, frowning. She rather liked that clown. He always worked when she came here with her mother and he never failed to make her smile. Well...a lot of things never failed to do that, but that wasn't the point. ''There's nothing wrong with Big Boned Bob!''

''He's too happy. I don't like it. He has to be a murderer.''

Lizzy rolled her eyes and swiped her mother's card when Ciel finished ringing her groceries. ''The next order is mine too...Boquisha.'' The girl laughed when her fiance glared at her.

''That is Boquisha SHERICE to you!'' The boy said accusingly before grabbing at the next item, not paying attention to what it could be. When his hand came into contact with a wet bag he frowned and looked down at it.

Ciel let out a girlish squeal and flung the bag of lobsters away from himself. He hadn't been expecting to look down and see their beady little eyes staring into his soul. A low pitched yell sounded from his left and Ciel and Lizzy looked over to find Sebastian on the floor, the lobsters attacking his fake afro. Ciel must have hit him with the bagged lobsters by accident and allowed them to get out of the bag in midair.

Lizzy couldn't contain it anymore. She started laughing hysterically as Sebastian aka Flounder rolled around on the floor screaming. Ciel would have laughed too, but his attention was focused elsewhere. The boy's brown contact-covered eye widened when he found his the clown from before gone.

''NNOOOOOOOOOO! FOILED AGAIN!'' Ciel screamed dramatically, causing everyone in the store to look at him as he dropped to his knees in shame, screaming out how much of a failure he was and how the Queen was going to beat him with a rolling pin.

This only caused Lizzy to laugh harder as the manager came over. The middle aged woman flipped her neon pink hair over her shoulder, popping her gum as she said. ''Boquisha. What is going on here?''

''My name is Boquisha SHERICE!'' Ciel yelled dramatically from his position on the floor as the manager started chewing him out for his poor conduct.

Sebastian appeared next to the boy on one knee, a stray lobster still in his afro. ''My lord, please calm down.''

''No! I just...nooo! I knew it was that stupid clown! I knew!'' Ciel said, starting to cry hysterically for his failure. ''Oh, where's my blue glue stick when I need it?!''

It was at this point that Lizzy finally stopped laughing and she gave the manager the money for her lobsters before walking over to Sebastian. She pulled the lobster and the wig off of the butler before skipping away, still laughing all the while as she went to find her mother.

''My hair!'' Sebastian shouted, starting to cry alongside his master.

''My career!'' Ciel shouted as well.

''My God!'' The manager yelled before walking over to the two crying men and picking them up by their ears. ''Just get back to work!''

''But...but...'' They both sniffled.

''Now!''

''Okay :[...''


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Black Butler belongs to Yana Toboso. If I owned Sebastian...let's just say he would never leave my bedroom. Ever. He'd be my little sex slave...ahem...yea. Also, the image is not mine. And do you guys know how hard it is to find a pic of Bassy as a mermaid? It is neigh impossible, I tell you! **

**Songs Listened To When Writing: Arrietty's Song from The Secret World Of Arrietty, Candy Shop by 50 Cent**

**P.S. This ENTIRE fic was inspired by the song 'Virginia Company' from the movie, Pocahontas. Can you believe that? I sure have an imagination, lol**

* * *

'_Ciel..._'

Said teen groaned and rolled over onto his side, nuzzling his face into his pillow.

'_Ciel...please!_'

At the pleading tone sounding within his skull, blue eyes cracked open, taking in the darkness of his room. Who was this voice?

'_I can not go on much longer...!_'

Ciel shot up in bed at those words, recognizing Sebastian's voice. The sound was fading and strained, like the merman was...choking.

All of a sudden everything came rushing back to the teenager full force. He had been knocked out, but before he had fully lost consciousness he had heard people talking. Ciel stood up and brought a hand to his head, feeling the large bump forming there as he tried to remember who had been speaking.

'_Ash and...Claude._'

''Shit!'' Ciel cursed as he ran out of his room and up the stairs, not caring that he could have woken up some of his crew mates. The teen's heart was racing as he ran to the back of the ship, silently praying that Sebastian was okay. He knew that Claude had his eyes on the raven for a while now and he could only guess as to what the navigator would do to the merman once Ciel was out of the picture.

This thought only made the teen run faster before skidding to a halt next to Sebastian's tank. His one blue eye widened when he saw only about two inches worth of water still remaining in the tank and Sebastian no where to be found. Ciel bit his lip and slammed his left fist against the tank in anger, not even noticing when his fingers started to bleed from the hard impact.

He took a second to calm himself before looking up at the tank again, this time noticing the image of a table that hadn't been there before through the glass. Ciel also noticed something resting atop the table and immediately ran over to it, recognizing that signature silver tail.

''Sebastian!'' Ciel called desperately as he reached the table. The merman's eyes were closed and he wasn't moving. Hesitantly, Ciel laid his head down on the raven's chest and listened, fearing what he might not hear.

The distinct sound of a heart beat could still be heard and Ciel sighed in relief, removing his head from the merman and feeling around the side of the table. He vaguely wondered why Bard's table was up here in the first place but pushed the thought to the back of his mind for now. His fingers came in contact with a small button and he pressed it before pulling out the nails around Sebastian's wrists, feeling extremely furious that someone would do this to the merman.

The teen placed his hand on Sebastian's shoulder before stopping for a moment, just thinking. Ciel looked around the deck and listened. There was no one up here; no one to stop him...

With one goal in mind, Ciel pulled Sebastian into his arms bridal style before walking over to the side of the ship. Blue eyes looked down at the dark waters below for a second before hoisting the raven up higher into his arms. This was it. This was his only chance to set the merman free. There was no time for hesitation; Sebastian would die otherwise.

Ciel placed the merman on the railing of the ship and swallowed down the lump in his throat as he moved to push Sebastian off the side. As he did this, his mind recalled the very first moment they met, how they used to fight all the time. Now those quarrels were a distant memory, never again to be remade.

Ciel bit his lip as he let out a breath that he didn't realize he had been holding. He could feel the scales of Sebastian's tail against his fingers and he looked down at it. That tail had been the whole reason that the two of them had been brought together and he wouldn't have traded this whole experience for the world. Ciel ran his thumb affectionately over the scales for a moment before grabbing a hold of Sebastian to push him over the edge into the ocean. It was time to say goodbye...

''Ciel...?'' The teen froze his movements and looked down at the merman to find groggy red eyes staring up at him. Sebastian's voice sounded raspy and quiet, like it physically hurt to speak. ''What...are you doing?''

Ciel shook his head and pushed the merman a bit closer to the edge. ''I'm setting you free back into the ocean.'' The teen said, sad eyes looking down at the raven, who's own eyes were widened. ''Sebastian, I'm sorry for everything. I never meant for any of this to happen...'' Ciel leaned down and stole one last kiss from the merman before he could react. ''Good-bye...'' He whispered against Sebastian's lips before pushing him over the edge...

* * *

When a distinct splash was heard Ciel dropped to his knees, bringing his hands up to his face as small tears started to form in his ocean-blue colored eyes. He coughed slightly as the liquid trekked down his cheeks, having not cried in years.

That was it. This whole thing was over. Sebastian was gone...and Ciel felt like his heart had just been ripped out. There would be no one waiting for him to get up in the morning. No one pestering him to pay attention to them instead of doing his work. No one that he was extremely close to on this ship anymore. The teen had never felt a greater loss than he did at this very moment.

After a long few minutes, when Ciel had calmed down some, he moved to get up on shaky legs, but froze when he heard a voice from above him.

''Why did you do that?''

Ciel looked up from his position on the floor to see Sebastian leaning over the ship, wine-red colored eyes staring at him in curiosity as water dripped onto the deck from his wet hair.

''What the hell areyou doing?'' Ciel demanded and got up from the floor, wiping away his tears with the back of his arm. ''Get back in the ocean before-''

''I have to know.'' Sebastian said seriously, causing Ciel to stop mid-sentence. ''Why did you do that?''

''Isn't it obvious?'' Ciel asked sarcastically, though his tone lacked any real bite. ''I don't want you to be killed, idiot.''

''What about your job? You are betraying everyone on this ship.'' Sebastian furrowed his brows in confusion.

''I don't care about that.'' Ciel said and shook his head. ''I just want you to be safe. So go.'' The teen said, walking towards Sebastian to push him back into the water.

''No.'' Sebastian said suddenly, holding fast to the railing of the ship and looking away from Ciel's eyes. ''I am not leaving.''

''Sebastian, what's the matter with you?'' Ciel frowned, motioning to the fish gutting table with his hand. ''Do you realize what would have happened if I didn't come up here?'' The merman didn't answer, which made the teen frown more. ''It's obvious that my ship is trying to kill you, Sebastian.'' Ciel said seriously, looking off to the side, as if that statement made him feel ashamed. ''I told you I wouldn't let that happen and I am going to keep my promise.'' The teen walked over and placed his hands on the merman's shoulders. Sebastian tensed underneath his touch but Ciel refused to back off. ''So go. I'll make sure that we don't follow you. I promise.''

There was silence between them for a few moments before Sebastian grabbed a hold of Ciel's wrist. His wine-red eyes were still looking off to the side as he quietly whispered, ''No.''

''Why?'' Now Ciel was getting confused. ''Isn't this what you wanted ever since I caught you?'' Sebastian didn't answer again and the teenager sighed. ''Why ever would you want to stay?-''

''You.'' Sebastian finally looked at the teen and Ciel was momentarily taken aback by the serious look in the merman's eyes. ''I am not leaving you Ciel.'' The merman had spent a lot of time thinking about these past few weeks while he was more or less suffocating up on that table. He had come to the complete conclusion that all humans, even Ciel, were complete liars. They never kept their word. They only cared about themselves...or so he thought. Ciel did keep his promise. He did protect him, even released him back into the ocean.

Those few minutes spent back under the waves felt like paradise to Sebastian, but something was missing: Companionship. That was the reason why he came back. For years, Sebastian had lived alone in the large body of water without a single complaint, but now that he knew what having someone by his side felt like, and he didn't want to go back to being alone. Staying here on the ship was probably the most stressful thing he had ever been through, but he would do it all over again given the chance. Because this experience led him to Ciel. When he first saw the boy, Sebastian never dreamed that he could feel this way about anyone, let alone a scrawny human. Yet here he was, refusing his one last chance at freedom to be with Ciel, knowing full well that he might not survive staying on this ship a moment longer but willing to take the risk if only to stay with the blue-eyed teenager.

''Sebastian.'' Ciel wrapped his arms around the raven's waist, pulling him up and over the railing. Part of him was happy that Sebastian didn't want to separate from him either, but the other half knew that there was no possible way that this could work. His crew members had tried to kill the merman, and if they found out that their plan didn't work... ''I don't know what you want me to do. You can't stay here.''

''Then come with me.'' Sebastian said abruptly, causing Ciel to blink in confusion.

''I can't live in the ocean, Sebastian. I can't breathe water.'' Ciel said incredulously, frowning down at the raven in his arms. He had a life on land, a family, a future. He couldn't just throw everything away to forever live in the ocean, even if he would be staying with Sebastian...

The raven shook his head and grabbed onto the deckhand's forearms. His gills were starting to hurt again from lack of water and his instinct was telling him to go back into the ocean. But no, he refused to go back to his lonely life. Not without Ciel. "It is possible.''

''Sebastian, listen to me.'' Ciel said, lowering them both down to sit on the deck. His arms were starting to feel the strain from holding the merman upright for so long. ''I don't want to leave you either but what other choice do we have?'' He moved his hand up to run his fingers through Sebastian's black colored locks when the merman grabbed onto his wrist. Ciel blinked as Sebastian inspected his bloodied left hand, which he had hurt whilst punching the tank earlier. ''...What?''

Sebastian seemed lost in his own world, like he was remembering something from long ago as he gazed upon Ciel's red-covered fingers. After a long while, he looked back up at the deckhand with a serious look on his face. ''Ciel I need to know, right now.'' The teenager winced when Sebastian squeezed his left ring finger, causing more blood to ooze out of the wound. ''Do you truly wish to stay with me?''

Ciel swallowed when Sebastian leaned over him so that their lips were almost touching. Red eyes staring into one blue as their owner awaited the teen's answer. ''I do, Sebastian.'' The deckhand's gaze drifted down to the merman's lips before looking back up into those wine-red eyes. ''But as I said, I don't know how we could-''

''Do you desire to take me as your mate?'' Sebastian cut him off, pushing the teen against the deck and laying down on Ciel's chest, tail lazily caressing one of the boy's legs. He still hadn't let go of the teen's bleeding hand.

Ciel felt his cheeks heat up as his brow furrowed. "My _what_?"

"Your mate. Your _lover_. Your significant other-"

"I know what you meant, Sebastian." Ciel interjected with a clipped tone. "I just...Well I guess so." The teen tried to appear indifferent, but the light scarlet flush on his cheeks was palpable to Sebastian. The merman hummed and nuzzled his nose against Ciel's neck as he fully laid on the boy's chest, glad at what the deckhand said.

''As you wish then...''

Before Ciel could ask what the merman was doing, Sebastian licked up the side of his left ring finger before taking the digit into his mouth. The teen could feel the blood being sucked from his wound and he frowned at the foreign feeling. ''Sebastian what are you-'' The teen stopped mid-question when the merman looked up at him with glowing bright red eyes.

Ciel unknowingly began to shake in fear at the sight before him, unable to do anything but watch as Sebastian nibbled on his finger before swirling his tongue around the wet digit. It would have been an arousing sight, if those glowing eyes weren't watching him.

All of a sudden the teen heard a scratching noise and something drifting in the wind caught his attention. Ciel squinted his one blue eyes slightly to get a better look and blinked when he realized it to be silver, like one of Sebastian's scales. In fact, it _was_ one of Sebastian's scales! It drifted lazily along the wind before disappearing over the side of the ship towards the ocean. More of them soon followed before an entire mass of scales was floating away.

Ciel looked down at Sebastian in confusion but he couldn't see the merman clearly because of all the scales blocking his view. A few of the silver pieces cut into his skin slightly as they left but Ciel pushed onward, grabbing a hold of Sebastian in confusion. He tried to call out to the other male but the scratching noise was deafening and Ciel instinctively shut his eyes and covered his ears to try and block out the noise.

The sound stopped almost as soon as it had started and Ciel felt a kiss being placed on his cheek and then a trail of kisses go down his neck. The teen opened his eyes and looked down at Sebastian in confusion as the raven kissed him. He frowned and opened his mouth to protest, wanting an explanation to just what that entire thing had been all about when he finally saw what exactly had happened.

''What the hell?!'' Ciel exclaimed when instead of seeing Sebastian's silver tail, two perfectly shaped legs were entangled with his own on the deck's floor.

''I did this for you, Ciel.'' Sebastian said before the teen could freak out anymore, littering the other's jaw and neck with soft kisses.

Ciel placed his hands on the raven's back when Sebastian wrapped both arms around his neck. A slight blush overtook his cheekbones again as he noticed that Sebastian was completely nude as the raven pressed up against him. ''What did...How?'' The teen was at a loss for words, everything had just happened so fast.

"Blood from a person's left ring finger is said to be a direct link to your heart.'' Sebastian said, bringing Ciel's left hand up to his mouth again and licked up the side of the digit, removing a small trace of remaining blood. The action caused Ciel to shiver as Sebastian continued to explain, ''Blood from that link is strong, and symbolizes one's love, or so I have been told.'' Sebastian placed his hands on either side of Ciel's head and moved his new legs slowly, with some difficulty, to straddle the teen. The raven could see the hesitation in that lone blue eye and Sebastian smiled softly as he leaned down to brush their noses together. ''By using this blood and your want to keep us together, I was able to transform myself into what we both desire; a human.'' Ciel opened his mouth to protest but Sebastian was quick to talk over him. "I do not wish to leave your side, Ciel. This way, we can stay together."

''Sebastian you just...'' Ciel said, still not believing what he was seeing. ''Gave up your entire..._species_ to be with me.'' The teen couldn't deny the fact that having Sebastian in his life was what he had wanted all along as well, but he didn't think that the raven would go to this great a length to keep them together.

''I don't care.'' The raven said, trailing his hands down Ciel's clothed chest. It certainly felt different to breathe oxygen; he didn't have gills anymore and instead sucked air through his nose and mouth. It didn't feel bad, just different. The same went for his new limbs. They shook from being exposed to the cold night air and were rather hard to control now, but the raven figured that he would get used to them over time. Sebastian shivered from the cold, leaning down again to be closer to the teen, as if Ciel somehow would keep him warm. ''I don't care what happens to me, as long as we are together.'' Sebastian said honestly, slipping his hands underneath the teen's shirt. Ciel's skin was warm here and the raven sighed silently as the warmth caressed his fingers.

''You are crazy.'' Ciel said, though his slight smirk gave away that he really wasn't all that angry at Sebastian. In fact, this might work out well for them. Since Sebastian was now human, the crew couldn't sell the raven at all. Sure, William would probably blow his top and their ship would lose a lot of money, but there would be nothing for the crew to do about this. Sebastian was human now, there was no turning back.

''If I am insane, it would only be for you.'' Sebastian teased as he bumped his nose against the teen's.

Ciel didn't answer the raven's obvious attempt at trying to flirt as he combed the hair on the back of Sebastian's head gently with his fingers before pulling him down for a kiss. Sebastian sucked in a tiny breath of surprise but then made a small noise in back of his throat as he melted into Ciel's kiss. His breaths where coming out in short excited huffs as he felt the teen gingerly lick the corners of his mouth. He could feel his face heat up in color slightly when Ciel took his full lower lip between his own and bit down on it softly.

Ciel released the raven's lip before tracing the bite mark he just made with his tongue. Finally, they were together again. It was so long since they had last done this and it still felt as incredible as before. The teen could feel Sebastian grip onto his shirt as Ciel placed chaste kisses onto his lips and cupped the back of his neck with one of his hands.

The teens other hand placed itself on Sebastian's thigh and the raven made a small noise at the feeling. It felt incredibly odd to have two lower limbs instead of one and having one of them touched while the other wasn't only added to the strange sensation. Sebastian pulled away from the kiss first. He still wasn't used to breathing air yet and took greed gulps of air to regain his breath back.

Ciel nipped at the column of Sebastian's throat as he slid his hand down from the raven's neck to his side. He bit down on the right side of the other male's neck, causing Sebastian to let out a small moan at the feeling of pain mixed with pleasure. The teen ran his tongue over the bite mark in a silent apology as he rubbed his thumb against the smooth skin of Sebastian's thigh. He would be lying if he said that he didn't miss the raven's silver tail, but legs were definitely not a bad thing either.

The teen let out a groan as Sebastian pushed his shirt up to his underarms, exploring the skin he found there with both his fingers and eyes. The raven leaned down over Ciel and licked a circle around one of the younger male's nipples, acting purely on instinct alone now. The nub became hard under the raven's ministrations and Sebastian kissed and nipped on it before doing the same to it's twin.

Ciel watched all this with fascination as he stroked the raven's back quietly. He could tell that Sebastian was inexperienced with this because his actions were sloppy, but that only added to the arousing sight before him. Sebastian looked gorgeous in the moonlight, his milky white skin practically glowing as strands of inky black hair fell in front of his wine-red eyes while he worked to pleasure the teen. Ciel shivered at the sight and moaned when he started to feel a small chill because of all the blood in his system rushing to one particular part of his anatomy.

The teen pulled off his shirt as Sebastian trailed his tongue down his stomach towards his pants. The raven placed his hand on Ciel's inner thigh when he came to the clothing, his instinct leaving him as he had never done anything like this with a human before. The raven felt something hard bump his chin the lower he went and he pulled back from Ciel to sit on the teen's thighs.

''Ciel...'' Sebastian said, curious, as he cupped the hard lump between the teen's legs. ''What is this?''

Ciel moaned at the touch and stopped himself before he could buck into the raven's hand. ''Are you honestly telling me that you don't know what that is?'' Ciel raised an eyebrow, endlessly amused by Sebastian's antics. He didn't know anything about human intercourse and the raven's naviety was pretty hilarious, considering that he was usually so high and mighty about his vast intellect.

''No.'' Sebastian defended himself, looking down at Ciel past his nose with narrowed eyes. He could tell that the teen was toying with him, and he didn't like it. ''I do know what that is.''

''Then what is it?'' Ciel smirked, sitting up and grabbing the back of the raven's neck again before stealing a chaste kiss. He could tell that he was pushing the other male's buttons and it made him feel empowered to have the upper hand instead of the other way around like their arguments usually were.

''It is your...'' Sebastian hesitated and Ciel's smirk grew wider.

''Hm?''

''That is your penis. A human male organ used for intercourse.'' Sebastian frowned. It wasn't like he was naïve to human anatomy, he had lived far too long and had heard enough stories about humans to know this. Although, he didn't know everything, just the names of certain body parts and their specific functions. His knowledge on the human anatomy didn't delve any deeper than that.

''Then why are you asking?'' Ciel chuckled when Sebastian glared at him.

''I meant _why_ is it so...prominent?'' Sebastian's red eyes were focused down on Ciel's half-hard erection.

''I could ask you the same thing about yours.'' Ciel pointed out and the raven blinked at the teen, who's one blue eye was focused in between Sebastian's legs.

The older male gazed down where Ciel was looking and was quite surprised to find that his own organ was in the same state as the other male's. Sebastian looked back up at Ciel with an accusing look in his eyes. ''What did you do?'' He frowned, blaming Ciel for his obvious arousal.

Ciel chuckled again. Sebastian was really too ignorant for his own good. The teen supposed that he would have to teach him then, and Ciel was sure going to be a thorough teacher. The teen sat up fully and pushed Sebastian onto his back before climbing over him, switching their positions. The younger male bit down gently on the raven's earlobe before Sebastian could protest, earning himself a small moan for his actions.

''I apologize for my mistake.'' Ciel breathed into Sebastian's ear and licked along the outer shell. He felt Sebastian shiver underneath him as the teen slowly trailed his hand up the inside of the raven's thigh. ''Let me fix it for you...''

''What are you-'' Sebastian's cut himself off and suddenly jerked when he felt Ciel's fingers come into contact with his erection. The raven could feel desire course through his body like wild fire as Ciel scratched the tip of the head teasingly. Sebastian gripped onto Ciel's forearms as a shiver wracked his entire frame, unknowingly digging his black nails into the soft flesh.

Ciel played his hand lower and wrapped it around Sebastian's shaft, feeling the soft flesh throb against his fingers. He ignored the sharp nails against his arms and started to pump the hard member in his hand. Ciel sucked on the bite-mark he had left on Sebastian's neck earlier as the older male let out a loud moan for his trouble. He could feel the raven start to shake from the pleasure as Ciel continued onward, using his free hand to minister some attention to one of Sebastian's nipples.

One of Sebastian's hands moved to Ciel's back as it's owner started to lose himself slightly. The raven had never felt ANYTHING like this before, these sensations completely new to him. Mer-creatures did not do things like this in their usual mating ritual. Their entire intercourse routine consisted of the female releasing her eggs into the water and then the male doing the same with his sperm to fertilize the eggs. Technically, the two of them did not even need to touch each other to produce offspring. So the human's ritual of touching each other heatedly while mating had always been a confusing topic for Sebastian. But now he knew why they did it...the pleasure occurring from this was simply intoxicating.

Sebastian made a small noise in the back of his throat when Ciel moved away completely. ''Ciel...'' The raven panted as the teen grabbed onto his hips before going down in between Sebastian's legs. The raven gasped and let out a small whine as Ciel licked along the underside of his now completely hard erection. The feeling of the teen's wet appendage sliding up against his stiff member left faint, tingling waves of pleasure in it's wake. Sebastian's heart began to beat erratically as he panted for air, tangling his fingers into Ciel's grey colored locks to try and coax the teen into doing something that Sebastian himself didn't even know.

Ciel held Sebastian's hips down as he continued to tease the raven just a little bit more, loving the reaction he was getting from him. He swirled his tongue around the head and immediately felt Sebastian try to jerk up into the teen's wet cavern. Ciel held him down though so that the older male wouldn't accidentally choke him. This was the first time that Sebastian had an erection at all and the teen knew that Sebastian would more than likely be antsy. So Ciel took his time, building up Sebastian slowly before alternating between bringing the erection into his mouth and sucking and licking the hard flesh.

When Ciel could go no further and his nose brushed up against dark pubic hairs, the teen closed his eyes as he started to suck and bob his head to induce pleasure for his raven. The teen could hear Sebastian's heavy pants as he tossed his head back, laying it down on the cold deck. ''Nnnnggghh Ciel...Ciel!'' Sebastian panted, cheeks flushes as he tried to thrust up into the hot and wet cavern around his member but Ciel was there to hold him down before he could get too far.

The eye-patch over Ciel's right eye became undone as Sebastian's hands pulled the teen's hair in different directions, desperately wanting the other male to move faster and suck harder. Wine-red eyes rolled back in Sebastian's head as the teen gave one particularly hard suck. The raven could feel pressure begin to pool itself in his loins, making him that much more sensitive to the deckhand's ministrations. Sebastian let out a few loud moans and arched his back, about to come, when the warm sensation of Ciel's mouth abruptly left him. A tiny spasm wracked the raven's body as the teenager pulled away, a spurt of pre-cum shooting out of the head of his member rather than the full load of an orgasm.

Sebastian panted and opened his eyes to see Ciel sitting up and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand like he had just tasted a particularly scrumptious sweet. Wine-red eyes narrowed angrily at the sight as Sebastian shakily lifted himself up into a sitting position. ''Why did you do tha-''

The raven was abruptly cut off by Ciel's lips attacking his own, pushing him back down against the deck. Sebastian moaned as he tasted himself from the teen's mouth as Ciel pushed his tongue into the older male's wet cavern. Ciel groaned as he kissed Sebastian, suddenly overcome with a feverish hunger for the older male. Those moans and little sounds coming from Sebastian really served to turn Ciel on and now a haze of lust overcame his two ocean-blue eyes as he pulled back and stared down at the panting male beneath him.

Sebastian had a similar look in his eyes as he gripped onto Ciel's waist with his hands. His legs felt like jello even more so now than when he first got them and he couldn't stop shaking as he watched Ciel lean down again toward him. A slow, passionate kiss was shared between them as the raven felt Ciel trace his hands up the back of his thighs. His attention was completely focused on the kiss so Sebastian was quite startled when he felt Ciel grip his ass as one of the teen's fingers came into contact with his puckered entrance.

Sebastian broke the kiss, memories of what happened with Claude a few hours prior coming back to haunt him. He remembered those dirty hands all over him and inside him, their owner taunting him with dirty words. The raven shut his eyes to try and block out the memory.

''Sebastian.'' Wine red eyes opened and looked up into Ciel's two blue ones as the teen looked down at him. He could feel Sebastian's entrance and noticed that it was not as tight as it should be, and was relaxed even as it was touched. ''Is there something that you're not telling me?'' Ciel frowned.

Sebastian tried to look away but Ciel would have none of that and grabbed his chin, forcing the older male to look at him. The raven sighed as he stared up into the teen's questioning blue orbs. ''It was...that navigator, with the glasses.''

Ciel frowned and furrowed his brow. ''Claude?''

''I think so.'' Sebastian nodded, still not knowing for sure if that was the man's actual name. But that wasn't really important right now. ''He tried to kill me, as you are aware.'' Ciel's frowned deepened but he nodded, knowing that much to be true. The teen swore that he would get the older man back for what he did to Sebastian at a later date. ''And he also...did more than that.''

''He touched you?'' Ciel asked, anger clearly shown in his eyes. ''Here?'' Ciel pressed against the raven's entrance with a bit more force than necessary and Sebastian gasped but nodded. ''With what?''

''Just his fingers.'' Sebastian confessed, squirming slightly from the pressure to that particular area. The pressure against his entrance increased before Ciel pushed one of his fingers past the wall of tight muscle, causing the raven to whimper quietly.

''Then _this_...'' Ciel emphasized his words by adding another finger into the still-loose hole. ''Is still mine then.'' Good, or else the teen was probably going to have to go downstairs and kill Claude in his sleep for even thinking about violating his Sebastian in this way.

Sebastian gasped and instinctively spread his legs at the invasion, his face feeling like it was on fire as Ciel kissed and nipped at the underside of his jaw. ''_Still_ yours?'' The raven panted as even more fingers started to prepare him. ''_That_ was never yours until recently.''

''Yes, it was.'' Ciel chuckled, leaning down and swirling his tongue around one of Sebastian's nipples. ''You just didn't know it yet.'' The teen said as he continued to scissor his fingers within the older male. In retrospect, Ciel didn't even need to prepare Sebastian, but the teen didn't want to risk hurting him if Claude never got too far in the preparation. Besides, Ciel wanted to do this on his own anyway, not wanting to pass up seeing the other male like this.

Sebastian clawed at the deck with his black nails as Ciel continued to move inside him like he was searching for something in particular. Wine-red eyes hid behind eyelids as the teen littered the raven's chest and neck with kisses. This felt just as weird as when Claude had done it, but with Ciel everything was one hundred times better. The teen was more gentle, but still rough enough to cause Sebastian to start panting for more. There was hardly any pain involved, unlike last time. There was only pleasure and the raven could feel his arms lose their strength as they fell to the deck, unable to support themselves as Sebastian was shivering so badly from Ciel's efforts.

All of a sudden, when Sebastian was beginning to think that this couldn't possibly get any better, the raven moaned and gasped loudly when the teen's fingers brushed against something inside of him that had Sebastian seeing stars. ''Ciel...!'' The raven panted, unconsciously arching his back and leaning down against the teen's fingers to try and get him to hit that spot again. ''Ahhh..haaaa...There! Right there!'' He moaned out, mind overcome with the pleasure that one particular spot gave him.

''Patience.'' Ciel whispered into Sebastian's ear before covering the raven's lips with his own, muffling the surprised cry the raven let out when Ciel hit that spot again. The teen kissed Sebastian for a few more moments before pulling back and completely removing himself from inside the other. Ciel couldn't just watch this anymore.

''What...w-was that?'' Sebastian shakily whispered through his pants as he heard the sound of Ciel's clothes being undone and the sound of the teen spitting on something. The raven shivered when Ciel grabbed onto his thighs, spreading his newly formed legs. Sebastian's eyes widened when he felt something much bigger than a finger come into contact with his entrance.

''Something that will make you feel crazy in a second.'' Was all Ciel offered in explanation before leaning his hips forward. Both of them gasped at the feeling as Ciel's hard member was slowly engulfed by Sebastian's heat. Ciel could feel the warmth slowly overcome his member and his blue eyes rolled back into his head at the feeling. Sebastian was so incredibly tight, even after all that preparation.

When Ciel was fully sheathed within him, the teen placed his hands on either side of Sebastian's head, their eyes locking as sweat ran down both of their faces. Ciel licked a few of the drops away before capturing Sebastian's lips again in a chaste kiss. The two of them refused to move, both panting as they stared into each other's eyes.

Sebastian's face was burning as he felt Ciel's hard member completely inside of him, sweat pouring off of him in buckets. ''Nnnnggh...'' He groaned, gripping onto Ciel's wrists with his hands as his body started to adjust bit by bit.

Eventually the sharp pain in his rear dulled to a controllable throb and Sebastian grabbed a hold of one of Ciel's hands, intertwining their fingers together as red eyes stared into blue. ''Ciel...'' The raven moaned, eyes half lidded. ''Move.''

The teen didn't have to be told twice and pulled out slowly, causing a mutual groan to pass between them. Ciel gripped onto Sebastian's hip as a slow pace started to develop itself. Ciel didn't want to go to fast, afraid that he might hurt Sebastian. The merman _did_ just turn into a human after all, and too much too soon could possibly injure him.

Eventually Sebastian started to meet his thrusts and Ciel took that as a cue to go faster. Everytime Ciel would slam into him, the raven would let out either a small gasp or moan and the this only served to spur the teen on even more. All of a sudden, Ciel covered Sebastian's mouth with his again, muffling the pleasure-filled scream that the raven let out when Ciel fisted his hard erection between them.

Sebastian gasped into his lover's mouth as Ciel started to jerk him in time with his thrusts. If he thought he had been seeing stars before, now he surely was seeing the moon as wave after wave of pleasure wracked his entire body. The raven squeezed Ciel's hand in his own as the teen started to go even faster, searching for that sweet spot inside of him.

When Ciel finally hit it, Sebastian's scream was again muffled by the teen's mouth. The raven grabbed onto Ciel's shoulder with his free hand, digging his nails into the flesh as that familiar pressure from before began to slowly bubble up inside Sebastian's nether regions.

Ciel felt like he was in heaven. Sebastian was so tight and hot around his member that it was intoxicating. Why hadn't they done this before? It was amazing. The walls of Sebastian's entrance started to tighten around him after a short while and the teen moaned at the feeling.

''Ciel...I..nngghh...can't.'' Sebastian whispered, curling his toes against the hard wood of the deck as he felt himself getting close to his breaking point. There was just too much pleasure for his new body to handle and his stamina was short. Ciel would have to fix that later...

''Then don't.'' Ciel grunted into his love's ear, feeling himself start to loose it as well as grip around him member tightened even more. ''Let go for me, Sebastian...''

The raven only lasted a few more minutes before he tossed his head back and called out Ciel's name loudly. The teen felt Sebastian's release splatter all over his chest as the raven's walls clamp around him. It wasn't long before the teen released as well due to the pressure, grunting out Sebastian's name loudly against the other male's ear.

They both remained infused for a long while as they came down from their high, panting as their bodies were covered in sweat and cum. Sebastian whimpered lowly as Ciel pulled out of him once the teen recovered from his orgasm.

Their hands were still intertwined as Ciel rolled off of Sebastian to lay beside the raven, both of them trying to still their racing hearts. After a few moments, Sebastian rolled up to Ciel's side, resting his head against the teen's chest and looking up at him with a smirk on his face.

''What's that look for?'' Ciel raised an eyebrow as his breathing started to calm itself.

''I am now your mate.'' Sebastian said, triumphant look upon his face.

''So?'' Ciel asked, throwing an arm over the raven's waist. ''Do you have a problem with that?'' Ciel sure would hope not, considering what they had just done.

''No, I can assure you of that much.'' Sebastian said and stole a tiny kiss from Ciel before laying his head back down. ''It is just...I have never had one before.''

''Well get used to it, because I'm not going anywhere.'' Ciel said, tightening his grip around his raven in a possessive manner.

''Good.'' Wine-red eyes disappeared behind eye-lids as sleep started to over come their owner. ''...Let us keep it that way.''

''Of course.'' Ciel closed his eyes and kissed Sebastian's forehead as the other male quickly fell asleep. The teen stayed in this position with the raven for a while, trying to regain some of his strength back before he got up to move them. He should probably hide Sebastian somewhere until he knew what the crew's reaction was going to be. But sleep was a cruel mistress tonight and Ciel couldn't keep his eyes open as he recovered and sure enough, he too was overcome with the urge to dream...

* * *

Loud footsteps. That was the first thing Ciel heard when he woke up. Next was numerous voices crying out,

''Oh my, what happened?!''

''Tee hee looks like someone had some fun last night.~''

''Oh my it appears they had more fun than we did. We best step up our game, right, RanMao?''

''Seaweed.''

''Oh, he's naked! How scrumptious!''

''Bloody hell! I told you that thing was cursed!''

''What the hell happened? Why is he suddenly human now!?''

Ciel didn't even get to open his eyes fully before he was roughly picked up by his arm and slammed against the wall of Sebastian's empty tank. The teen coughed and finally opened his eyes to see an enraged William pushing him against the glass by his throat.

''Phantomhive, what did you do?!'' The navigator exclaimed, pointing off to his left. Ciel followed his gaze to see a very human Sebastian being held down Ash and Claude. So that really hadn't been a dream last night? That meant that... Without thinking, the teen grit his teeth and jerked towards the raven, pure hatred in his blue eyes for the navigator who was once again touching his Sebastian.

William shoved the teen back against the glass before he could get very far and the teen could practically see dollar bill signs burning in the man's hard glare. ''I will ask again, what did you do?!'' Ciel's eyes looked around him and everyone was looking at him expectantly. Blue eyes once again gazed at Claude, who had a look similar to William's upon his face and he glared at the teen as they made eye contact. Ciel held the glare before looking up at William.

''I am afraid that...I didn't do anything.'' Ciel said, not exactly lying but still not telling the truth either. Sebastian was the one who turned himself human, but it was because of Ciel that he did so.

William grunted and shoved Ciel to the side onto the floor, doing math in his mind quickly. ''Do you realize what you have just done? You have damaged our goods. We can not hope to regain what we have lost from this.'' Willaim said angrily, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.

Ciel sat up to protest when he felt a blanket being thrown over his still nude body.(In all honesty he had completely forgotten about that up until this point.) The teen looked up to find Tanaka staring down at him with understanding eyes and Ciel frowned and looked down, biting his lip. A hand was placed upon his shoulder and he looked to his right to find Finny sitting next to him on the floor. Bard, Meyrin and Agni also joined the teenager as well, supporting him in his time of need.

''You're not angry at me?'' Ciel asked hesitantly to the five of them as William continued to rave and rant in the background while Lau tried to calm him down.

''No.'' Finny shook his head. ''I'm your friend Ciel, and I'll never be angry at you. I've never cared about the money, only my friends.'' That boy was certainly a bucket of sunshine, even now, and Ciel couldn't help but feel a bit grateful for his optimism in this situation.

''Me too.'' Agni placed his big hand onto the teen's head and smiled down at him. ''I have always respected your decisions Ciel, and now is no different.''

''Same for me.'' Meyrin interjected next. ''I never wanted to sell the merman anyway. It's slavery, yes it is!''

''I was always with ya Ciel.'' Bard cut in last. ''Hell, I didn't even want him here in the first place!''

Two wrinkled hands were suddenly placed upon Ciel's shoulders and the teen looked up at Tanaka. ''I am glad you made your decision about what is most important to you and have decided to follow it.'' Tanaka gave a close-eyed smile to the boy. ''Young people now-a-days lose that sense of what is really important. I am glad that you have not lost yours.''

''Tanaka...'' Ciel said and then closed his eyes and let out a breath as he closed his eyes before getting up on shaky legs, acquiring everyone's attention. ''You're right...'' Ciel did know what was important, and he was going to fight for it, even it meant betraying his own species, everyone here and his own pride.

Sebastian was worth it, and he always would be.

* * *

**Dun dun dun shizz is about to go down to China town! Sorry if the ending was kind of abrupt and complete crap but I lost steam cuz I spent freaking FOREVER writing this chapter :OOO** **So, anyways, as you guys can tell from up there, the seme that me and DLA picked was indeed ****Ciel. Which I really like because there are not too many fics of Ciel being the seme :] Plus, I quite enjoy uke Sebby. Tis hot -,- Also, DLA, I know that I didn't follow exactly what we discussed to a tee, but this is what came out and because of the Claude thing, Sebastian's reaction towards intercourse had already been established and it went way beyond character to do what we discussed fully but I did try and I'm sorry if it doesn't live up to your standards D: You can punch Claude if it makes you feel better TwT**

**Anyways, as I said last time people, there is only one more chapter left...I think. It depends if I can fit it all into one or not and I'm sure as hell gonna try :o Also, I have school coming up REAL soon and I don't know when the last chapter will be up so if it doesn't come out next Saturday, please don't chase me with guns or any other weapon. I WILL sick Sebby on you -.-**

**Okay well that's basically it for my A/N. Hope you guys have a good day and please REVIEW and let me know if you hate having Ciel be seme, if my lemon sucked(which is possible cuz I am a bit rusty) or anything else at all. I love to hear from you guys :D Ja!~**

**Preview for next chappy:...The end. Yep that's all you get, lest I give away spoilers XD**

* * *

~Random Short~

''Sebastian!'' Ciel called desperately as he reached the table. The merman's eyes were closed and he wasn't moving. Hesitantly, Ciel laid his head down on the raven's chest and listened, fearing what he might not hear.

The distinct sound of a heart beat could still be heard and Ciel sighed in relief, removing his head from the merman and feeling around the side of the table. His fingers came in contact with a small button and he pressed it before pulling out the nails around Sebastian's wrists.

With one goal in mind, Ciel placed his arms underneath Sebastian's tail and shoulders and moved to pull him off the table into his arms... but failed horribly due to the raven's massive weight, causing them both to crash onto the deck together.

''Ow! What the hell?!'' Sebastian screamed at Ciel, waking up and glaring at the teen, who had gotten up and crossed his arms, looking away with his nose held high.

''You are quite heavy, you should lose a few pounds.'' Ciel commented, causing Sebastian to gasp and get up off the floor as well, taking off his merman costume and slapping Ciel with it.

''How dare you! I am not heavy! You just need to go to the gym more, Mr. Flab!'' Sebastian roared, flicking at Ciel's flabby forearms to prove his point.

''Alright that's it!'' Soma's voice cut in from behind the two of them before Ciel could retaliate, the Indian director frowning down at the two of them. ''You two stop fighting! You are supposed to love each other!''

''Oh, yea. I'm feelin' the love.'' Sebastian said under his breath as Ciel glared at him for calling his arms flabby.

''Stop it, stop it! Ciel, you shouldn't glare! You'll ruin your make-up and then Migoto Nami's whole movie will be ruined!'' Lizzy chided and ran to the blue-eyed actor, using her skills as the crew's make-up artist to make Ciel all pretty again with just a hint of pink blush. ''There! Now you're all cute again!'' The blonde clapped her hands together and closed her eyes as Ciel silently gave her the finger.

''Now, Ciel stop being such a sour patch kid and carry Sebastian so we can go home and smoke some weed.'' Madame Red, Ciel's acting coach instructed as she took a sip of her coffee from her spot next to Soma.

''All the weed in the world won't make up for touching this fruit loop.'' Ciel said boldly, jerking his thumb at Sebastian as the raven put his silver merman tail back on.

''For your information,'' Sebastian jabbed his finger into Ciel's chest when he was fully a merman again. ''I am not a Fruit Loop. I am a Cocoa Puff, thank you _very_ much.''

''Okay, Sebastian get back up on the table and Ciel you put your arms under him. From the top people!'' Director Soma shouted into his mini-director's cone as Pluto redirected the camera back at the scene. ''Action!''

Ciel's arms felt they were going to fall off as he tried to lift Sebastian again. He didn't even make it two steps whilst carrying the raven before his arms gave out and he dropped Sebastian onto the floor.

''Ow! Ciel!'' Sebastian complained, rubbing the back of his head from where it hit the floor painfully.

''That's it. I can't do this. I'm going out to smoke some dope and if you're not 20 pounds lighter by the time I get back then you can _float_ your way over to that edge of the ship!'' Ciel roared back at the other male before turning on his heel and walking away like a pimp.

''Hey, Ciel! Don't forget to share!'' Madame Red exclaimed, running after the teen and jumping over Sebastian's crying body along the way.

''I am NOT fat, I swear!'' Sebastian cried, curling in on himself and digging his nails into his stomach.

''Well, you _could_ lose a few pounds...'' Lizzy said and looked away when angry red eyes glared at her. ''Just sayin'!''

''I hate my life!'' Sebastian cried and went back to playing with his stomach on the floor as Agni appeared next to Soma with some curry.

''Ooh! Curry! You so yummy in my tumbly!'' Soma exclaimed and called everyone off the set to break for lunch, no one caring about Sebastian's temper tantrum on the floor.

''**I AM NOT FAT!'**'


End file.
